JP5468742B2 - Green tea extract, its use and production method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is a green tea extract capable of providing a suitable green tea beverage or green tea-flavored food when used as a food or drink material, uses such as a beverage using the same as a food or drink material, and green tea extraction The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a product.

  Green tea beverages that are poured into teapots, etc., extracted with hot water, etc., and used for drinking have become more easily drinkable than conventional ones due to their widespread use as packaged beverage products. In addition, green tea is known to contain tea catechins, and it has been reported that tea catechins are effective in preventing heart disease and cancer. Beverages and other beverages with a high content are distributed on the market, and active intake of tea catechins is spreading.

  The tea extract dried product obtained by removing water from green tea from which tea leaves have been extracted with water or hot water is distributed as powdered tea, dissolved in water or hot water to prepare tea beverages, and when cooking foods and beverages. It can be used as an additive for adding the flavor of.

On the other hand, various functional ingredients such as catechins contained in the tea extract are in high demand as ingredients for health foods and supplements due to an increase in health-consciousness. For this reason, in order to refine | purify these components, the method of isolate | separating and refine | purifying a tea extract using adsorption agent, an organic solvent, etc. is proposed. For example, in the following Patent Document 1, a green tea extract is dispersed in a mixed solution having an organic solvent and water weight ratio of 91/9 to 97/3, and is contacted with activated carbon and acid clay or activated clay, to form a non-polymerized catechin. To produce a purified green tea extract containing 25-90 wt. Patent Document 2 below discloses that after a green tea extract is subjected to macroporous polar resin chromatography, catechin adsorbed on the resin is eluted and concentrated using a polar elution solvent.
JP 2005-270094 A JP 2001-097968 A

  Green tea beverages immediately after extracting tea leaves with hot water generally exhibit yellow to yellow-green color, and such colors can feel freshness and high quality.

  However, since the color component of green tea is easily decomposed by heat or air oxidation, in the case of powdered tea obtained by drying, even if it is dissolved in hot water or added to foods, the food and drink that showed the preferred green tea color Product cannot be obtained, and it becomes a hue that feels fading and dull. For this reason, when using powdered tea when cooking and manufacturing green tea beverages and green tea flavored foods and drinks, it is necessary to use colorants and ground tea leaves to obtain a preferred hue. The use of colorants is not preferred from the recent viewpoints of nature-orientation and health-orientation, and the ground tea leaves are solid and therefore unsuitable for addition to beverages.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a green tea extract that can be applied to a wide range of foods and drinks and that can impart a preferable green tea color that can feel freshness and high quality to the foods and drinks. .

  Another object of the present invention is to efficiently provide a tea extract having a high content of catechins that can give food and drink a preferable green tea color.

  The other subject of this invention is providing the manufacturing method of the tea extract which can supply the tea extract which can give the color of preferable green tea to food-drinks simply and cheaply.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a food and drink and a food and drink manufacturing material using a tea extract that has a high content of catechins and can give a preferable green tea color to the food and drink. is there.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventors have conducted extensive research, and as a result, devised extraction conditions from green tea leaves to obtain a green tea extract that has a high catechin content and exhibits a preferable green color of green tea. It has been found that it can be obtained, and the present invention has been completed.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the method for producing a green tea extract has an X value of 7 to 30, an Y value of 8 to 34, and a Z value of 4 to 15 in an XYZ color system measured by a spectral color difference meter. A method for producing a green tea extract having a total catechin content of 30% by mass or more, comprising extracting a green tea leaf with a first water-containing organic solvent, and a green tea leaf after the first extraction step A second extraction step of extracting the mixture with a second water-containing organic solvent, and a recovery step of recovering the extract obtained in the first extraction step and the extract contained in the extract obtained in the second extraction step together When the organic solvent concentration of the first water-containing organic solvent is P [%, volume / volume] and the organic solvent concentration of the second water-containing organic solvent is Q [%, volume / volume], P And Q satisfies the following formula.

    20 ≦ P ≦ 90, 80 ≦ Q, and 9980 ≦ (33P + 100Q)

  According to the present invention, it is not necessary to use expensive equipment or special equipment, and a simple method is used to produce and provide a tea extract having a high catechin content and a preferable green tea color in an appropriate yield. Can do. The tea extract obtained by the present invention can be used to provide a tea beverage having a preferable green tea color or a food and drink with a green tea flavor, and food and drink such as a coloring agent and flavor containing the tea extract of the present invention. A manufacturing material can be provided and used for cooking food and drink. Therefore, in various fields including food processing, dyeing, amenity, etc., it is possible to further develop the use of green tea extract as a new material in additives, coloring agents and the like.

  Flavonols, flavones, and chlorophyll (chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b) are known as color components contained in green tea beverages. Flavonols and flavones are water-soluble components that exhibit white to yellow in a solid state and colorless to bright yellow in a solution state. On the other hand, chlorophyll is a fat-soluble component, but when the tea leaf tissue is crushed into fine fragments or a component having a surface active function is acted, it is contained in a small amount in water or hot water extract and exhibits a green color.

  Powdered tea obtained by drying green tea extract with water or hot water discolors and fades when flavonols and flavones are altered by heat and air oxidation. It is difficult to reproduce the color of vivid green tea, and it is difficult to obtain a preferable green tea color even when added to food. Even if the coloration component is altered in a very small amount, it has a great influence on the color. Therefore, it is very difficult to prevent the color change by means of preventing a decomposition reaction such as a reducing agent.

  As a measure for obtaining an extract having a preferable green tea color, it is conceivable to incorporate other color components such as chlorophyll using an organic solvent, in particular, a hydrophilic organic solvent. Since the extraction rate of the water-soluble component is extremely lowered and the original tea component cannot be obtained, it is not preferable as a flavor. Extraction with a water-containing organic solvent results in an intermediate property extraction, but it is difficult to obtain satisfactory results for both water-soluble components and color components.

  In view of the above, when the extract under various extraction conditions was examined, the plurality of extraction steps using different concentrations of the water-containing organic solvent suitably contained the original tea ingredients and preferred green tea colors. The present inventors have found that it is possible to obtain the present green tea extract, and have reached the green tea extract of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

  The green tea extract of the present invention is an extract obtained by extracting green tea leaves using a water-containing organic solvent and drying. The green tea leaves used as a raw material are not particularly limited as long as they are generally classified as non-fermented teas, and are not limited by non-essential differences in tree species, parts, etc., and production methods.

  The green tea extract of the present invention has an X value of 7 to 30, an Y value of 8 to 34, and a Z value of 4 according to an XYZ color system (a smaller value is darker) measured using a spectral color difference meter. Visually, the green color is strong and vivid, and even in a state dissolved in water or hot water, it exhibits a bright green color compared to the natural color of the hot water extract of green tea leaves. On the other hand, the green tea extract obtained by general aqueous extraction has an X value of 33 to 35, a Y value of 35 to 37, and a Z value of 17 to 20, all of which are light in color. The green tea extract having a hue as in the present invention is difficult to obtain by a conventional extraction method using water or a water-containing organic solvent. The difference in hue is partly because the extraction in the present invention can extract not only water-soluble components such as flavonols and flavones but also fat-soluble components such as chlorophyll. In addition, it seems that the extraction balance of the component which can change pH environments, such as an organic acid and an amino acid, can also be concerned with a hue as an element considered other than that. Since the coloration of the substance varies greatly depending on the environment such as pH, the color of the extract is considered to be influenced not only by the content of the colored component but also by the balance of the contained component. If the type, content and composition balance are different, the hue may be greatly different. Since tea leaves contain many components that affect pH, such as amino acids, organic acids, and minerals, the presence of components that differ from the green tea extract by normal aqueous extraction, variation in the component balance, and the state of presence It is also conceivable that the green tea extract of the present invention becomes an extract exhibiting the above color values.

  Furthermore, the green tea extract of the present invention is obtained as an extract having a total catechin content of 30% by mass or more, and has a stronger flavor than a normal tea extract. In this respect, unlike the extract obtained by conventional extraction using an organic solvent, the hue of the resulting extract changes when extracted using a water-containing organic solvent in order to increase the content of catechin. Thus, it is difficult to obtain a color value as described above. That is, it is difficult to obtain the green tea extract of the present invention by a single extraction, and in order to efficiently obtain the green tea extract of the present invention, a plurality of extraction steps are provided, and the concentration is adjusted appropriately. It is necessary to carry out using a water-containing organic solvent. Below, the manufacturing method for obtaining the green tea extract of this invention is demonstrated.

  The method for producing a green tea extract of the present invention is a method for extracting green tea leaves in two types of extraction steps using a water-containing organic solvent, and the organic solvent constituting the water-containing organic solvent is a hydrophilic organic solvent. That is, the first and second extraction steps are carried out using hydrophilic organic solvent aqueous solutions having different water contents, and the first extraction step places emphasis on the extraction of catechins, and the second extraction step includes Emphasis is placed on color components.

  Catechin is suitably extracted in extraction using a water-containing organic solvent having an organic solvent concentration of about 20 to 90%, and the extraction rate is highest when a water-containing organic solvent having an organic solvent concentration of about 50 to 60% is used. . On the other hand, the extraction rate of the coloring component is considerably lowered when the organic solvent concentration of the water-containing organic solvent to be used is about 75% or less, and is particularly low for the water-containing organic solvent having a concentration of 50% or less. Therefore, in order for the extract to have a preferable green tea color, it is necessary to perform at least one step of extraction for a color component using a water-containing organic solvent having an organic solvent concentration of about 80% or more, preferably about 90% or more. is there. However, since the extraction rate of catechin is low at this concentration, a separate step for extracting catechin is required. For this, it is only necessary to efficiently extract catechin using the extraction solvent having the appropriate concentration described above. Conceivable. However, at this time, if a water-containing organic solvent having an organic solvent concentration of 50% or less is used in the catechin extraction process, it is not possible to expect the extraction of the coloring component, so that the proportion of the coloring component in the total amount of the extract is balanced. Need to be considered. That is, the extraction balance of both extraction processes is important.

  Examining the extraction balance, it was found that the color components can be extracted satisfactorily by setting each organic solvent concentration so that the weighted average value of the organic solvent concentration of the solvent in each extraction step is not less than a predetermined value. . Specifically, the organic solvent concentration of the first hydrous organic solvent in the first extraction step is P [%, volume / volume], and the organic solvent concentration of the second hydrous organic solvent in the second extraction step is Q [%, volume / volume. The range of the proper organic solvent concentration in the two steps is expressed as follows as the volume], and the weighted average value of the organic solvent concentrations P and Q of the water-containing organic solvent in the two steps is about 75. 04% or more.

20 ≦ P ≦ 90, 80 ≦ Q, and 9980 ≦ (33P + 100Q)
By performing the first and second extraction steps using the water-containing organic solvents having the concentrations P and Q satisfying the above formula, the green tea extract recovered from the extract of both steps is the color of the above-mentioned range. The value XYZ is shown, and the total catechin content is 30% by mass or more.

  In the first extraction step and the second extraction step, the extraction composition in each extraction step varies depending on the order of execution. If extraction with an extraction solvent with a low water content is performed first, the familiarity between the extraction solvent and tea leaves is not good, so the extraction of the color components is delayed and it is difficult to efficiently obtain a good green extract. Become. On the other hand, if extraction with a solvent having a high moisture content is preceded, the organic solvent and tea leaves are easily adapted by the penetration of water into the green tea leaves. As a result, the subsequent extraction efficiency is improved and the color components can be easily extracted. In other words, in order to allow water to penetrate green tea leaves and improve familiarity with organic solvents, it is important that the extraction solvent initially brought into contact with green tea leaves contains a certain amount of water. 85% or less.

  For this reason, the order of the first extraction step and the second extraction step is set so that the second extraction step is performed after the first extraction step, and the concentration Q is set to be higher than the concentration P. Is preferred. The organic solvent concentration P in the first extraction step is preferably set to 85% or less, more preferably 80% or less, and most preferably 60 to 80%. The concentration Q in the second extraction step may be in a water-containing state, preferably in the range of 80 to 99.5%, more preferably in the range of 90 to 99.5%. By setting in this way, the penetration of water into the tea leaves and the familiarity with the solvent proceed appropriately, it can be carried out with good extraction efficiency in any step, and a green tea extract can be obtained efficiently. it can.

  One or both of the first extraction step and the second extraction step may be repeated a plurality of times, or both steps may be alternately repeated a plurality of times. By increasing the number of times of the first extraction step, it is possible to improve the yield by increasing the amount of extraction of catechins and the like, and by increasing the number of times of the second extraction step or the extraction time, the extraction ratio of the color components is improved. Therefore, an extract having an X value of 7 to 18, a Y value of 8 to 19, and a Z value of 4 to 8 is obtained, and the green hue is visually stronger and the color becomes deep green. It is difficult to obtain a green tea extract having a dark green color with a Y value of 18 or less and a catechin content of 30% or more by extraction with a single concentration of a water-containing organic solvent.

  As the organic solvent constituting the extraction solvent, water-soluble organic solvents such as alcohols and ketones are preferably used. Specifically, methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol , Low molecular weight aliphatic alcohols such as t-butanol, low molecular weight aliphatic ketones such as acetone, and the like, and methanol, ethanol and acetone are particularly preferable. The organic solvent constituting the first hydrous solvent and the second hydrous solvent may be the same or different, and may be a mixture of a plurality of water-soluble organic solvents.

  The amount of the water-containing organic solvent used in each extraction step is preferably 4 to 6 ml / g with respect to the dry weight of the green tea leaves, and when the amount of the solvent is less than 3 ml / g, it is difficult to sufficiently swell the swollen tea leaves. The larger the amount of extraction solvent used for tea leaves, the greater the amount of extract, but the extraction rate per volume of solvent should be divided into multiple extractions rather than a single extraction. Since the amount of solvent used per time is reduced and the first and / or second extraction steps are performed a plurality of times, the extraction efficiency can be improved even if the total amount of solvent used is the same. The ratio (volume / volume) between the extraction solvent amount (total amount) used in the first extraction step and the extraction solvent amount (total amount) used in the second extraction step is appropriately adjusted according to the target coloration and yield. Generally, a range of about 2/1 to 1/2 is preferable.

  The extraction time, that is, the time for bringing the tea leaf into contact with the extraction solvent may be sufficient if the tea leaf components can be sufficiently and efficiently eluted, and is generally preferably about 10 to 60 minutes. Since the extraction is suitably performed at about room temperature, it can be appropriately set within a range in which the problem of workability does not occur.

  The extract obtained in the first and second extraction steps are combined and uniformly mixed, and then the organic solvent is removed and dried to obtain a powdery green tea extract. As a drying method, spray drying, freeze drying, or vacuum distillation is preferable. When extracts with different organic solvent concentrations are combined, the highly lipophilic component in the second step extract with a high organic solvent concentration becomes unstable, which becomes the precipitation nucleus during drying and precipitates other components. Therefore, it is easy to obtain a fine particle powdery precipitate, and it is easy to dry.

  The green tea extract thus obtained exhibits a bright green color as described above, and contains catechins in a proportion of 30% by mass or more and maintains a stronger flavor than normal green tea. The green tea extract can be obtained with a yield of about 20% by mass or more (based on the dry mass of the raw tea leaves), and can be easily obtained using general extraction equipment without requiring special equipment. Can be implemented.

  The obtained green tea extract can be used in the same manner as conventional powdered tea, and can be used not only for the production of green tea beverages and health foods as catechin materials, but also for foods and supplements using the vivid green color. It can also be used as a coloring agent. Prepare instant tea by blending with conventional powdered tea, green tea extract, catechin-containing material, etc., or dissolve it in water and fill it into a beverage container such as a plastic bottle or can in a heated state. Can be manufactured.

  Extracts extracted from tea leaves of green tea were collected according to the procedures of Examples and Comparative Examples described below, and filtered and dried to obtain a green tea extract. The obtained green tea extract was subjected to color evaluation by an XYZ color system using a spectral color difference meter (SE6000, manufactured by Nippon Denshoku Industries Co., Ltd.) after measuring the yield.

  Further, 50 mg of green tea extract was weighed into a 100 ml volumetric flask and dissolved with water, and the solution was made up to a volume of 100 ml. The total catechin was quantified according to the following procedure using the solution passed through a 0.45 μm Versapore filter as an analysis sample.

<Quantitative method for total catechin>
10 mg each of (-)-catechin, (-)-Cg, (-)-EC, (-)-ECg, (-)-GC, (-)-GCg, (-)-EGC and (-)-EGCg Each was weighed into a 100 ml volumetric flask, dissolved with 0.5 mass% ascorbic acid-0.01 mass% disodium EDTA aqueous solution, and the volume was adjusted to 100 ml. Using a part of this solution, a diluted solution diluted with pure water 2 times or 5 times was prepared, and used as standard solutions of 1 time, 2 times and 5 times.

  Each of the above three standard solutions was passed through a 0.45 μm Versapore filter, and then HPLC analysis was performed under the following conditions. The peak areas of each component in the obtained chromatogram were measured, A calibration curve was prepared from the concentration of each component.

  Using the above calibration curve, the concentration of each component by HPLC analysis of the analytical samples obtained in Examples and Comparative Examples was determined, and the total content of 8 components was calculated as the total catechin amount of the tea extract. .

<Analysis conditions for HPLC>
HPLC system: Shimadzu LC-10AD two-component high-pressure gradient system Column: YMC J'sphere ODS-H80 250 x 3.0 mm I.D.
Mobile phase A: water: acetonitrile: phosphoric acid = 94.9: 5.0: 0.1
Mobile phase B: water: acetonitrile: phosphoric acid = 49.9: 50.0: 0.1
Detection: UV detector 230nm
Sample injection volume: 5 μL
Liquid feed rate: 0.43 ml / min
(Liquid feeding gradient)
Time Mobile phase A Mobile phase B
0 minutes 95% 5%
5 minutes 95% 5%
10 minutes 90% 10%
15 minutes 90% 10%
25 minutes 80% 20%
40 minutes 80% 20%
45 minutes 20% 80%
50 minutes 20% 80%
51 minutes 95% 5%
65 minutes 95% 5%

(Examples 1-18)
Put 80 g of green tea leaves into a glass column with an inner diameter of 5 cm and a height of 40 cm, pour 320 ml of hydrous ethanol with solvent concentration P shown in Table 1 and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, then open the cock and obtain extract 1 It was. Next, 320 ml of water-containing ethanol having a solvent concentration P shown in Table 1 was poured into the extraction residue moistened with the pre-extraction solvent, allowed to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, and then the cock was opened to obtain an extract 2. Further, 320 ml of water-containing ethanol having a solvent concentration Q shown in Table 1 was poured into the extraction residue moistened with the pre-extraction solvent, and allowed to stand at room temperature for 10 minutes, and then the cock was opened to obtain Extract 3. Extracts 1 to 3 were mixed, filtered through No. 2 filter paper, the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure, and lyophilized to obtain a green tea extract. Table 2 shows the yield of the obtained extract (mass percentage of the obtained extract relative to the raw green tea leaves), color evaluation (X, Y and Z values) by the XYZ color system, and catechin content (mass percentage). Show.

(Table 1)
Example Solvent concentration P (V / V) Solvent concentration Q (V / V)
1 20.0% 99.5%
2 30.0% 99.5%
3 40.0% 99.5%
4 50.0% 99.5%
5 60.0% 99.5%
6 70.0% 99.5%
7 80.0% 99.5%
8 90.0% 99.5%
9 30.0% 90.0%
10 40.0% 90.0%
11 50.0% 90.0%
12 60.0% 90.0%
13 70.0% 90.0%
14 80.0% 90.0%
15 90.0% 90.0%
16 60.0% 80.0%
17 70.0% 80.0%
18 80.0% 80.0%

(Table 2)
Example XYZ Total catechin amount (%) Yield (%) Evaluation 1 22.56 25.57 9.22 31.79 23.85 ○
○ ○ ○ ○ ○
2 22.18 25.07 9.77 32.00 25.71 ○
○ ○ ○ ○ ○
3 20.71 23.41 9.82 30.46 24.98 ○
○ ○ ○ ○ ○
4 20.40 22.99 10.42 32.51 25.04 ○
○ ○ ○ ○ ○
5 19.69 22.08 8.57 34.28 27.29 ○
○ ○ ○ ○ ○
6 20.06 22.51 8.99 34.12 21.62 ○
○ ○ ○ ○ ○
7 16.12 17.69 6.97 36.48 20.81 ○
○ ○ ○ ○ ○
8 17.06 18.59 8.84 37.19 3.85 △
○ ○ ○ ○ ×
9 27.63 31.15 12.23 32.33 23.83 ○
○ ○ ○ ○ ○
10 29.51 33.02 13.33 31.56 23.41 ○
○ ○ ○ ○ ○
11 23.84 26.61 12.27 33.17 25.40 ○
○ ○ ○ ○ ○
12 29.32 32.31 14.98 34.47 25.05 ○
○ ○ ○ ○ ○
13 29.17 32.26 14.31 35.78 22.30 ○
○ ○ ○ ○ ○
14 19.17 20.99 9.20 36.77 20.89 ○
○ ○ ○ ○ ○
15 16.73 18.45 5.99 35.83 4.19 △
○ ○ ○ ○ ×
16 23.06 25.89 10.64 33.34 25.80 ○
○ ○ ○ ○ ○
17 26.43 29.41 12.26 35.87 21.41 ○
○ ○ ○ ○ ○
18 24.24 26.44 12.59 36.62 20.09 ○
○ ○ ○ ○ ○

(Comparative Examples 1 to 13)
Put 80 g of green tea leaves in a glass column with an inner diameter of 5 cm and a height of 40 cm, pour 320 ml of hydrous ethanol with solvent concentration P shown in Table 3 and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. It was. Next, 320 ml of water-containing ethanol having a solvent concentration P shown in Table 3 was poured into the extraction residue moistened with the pre-extraction solvent, allowed to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, and then the cock was opened to obtain an extract 2. Further, 320 ml of water-containing ethanol having a solvent concentration Q shown in Table 3 was poured into the extraction residue moistened with the pre-extraction solvent, and the mixture was allowed to stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Extracts 1 to 3 were mixed, filtered through No. 2 filter paper, the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure, and lyophilized to obtain a green tea extract. Table 4 shows the yield of the extract obtained, the color evaluation by the XYZ color system, and the amount of catechin.

(Table 3)
Comparative example Solvent concentration P (V / V) Solvent concentration Q (V / V)
1 10.0% 99.5%
2 10.0% 90.0%
3 20.0% 90.0%
4 10.0% 80.0%
5 20.0% 80.0%
6 30.0% 80.0%
7 40.0% 80.0%
8 50.0% 80.0%
9 60.0% 75.0%
10 70.0% 75.0%
11 50.0% 70.0%
12 60.0% 70.0%
13 70.0% 70.0%

(Table 4)
Comparative Example XYZ Total catechin amount (%) Yield (%) Evaluation 1 27.03 30.60 11.32 23.04 21.56 ×
○ ○ ○ × ○
2 32.00 35.68 12.86 25.53 21.96 ×
× × ○ × ○
3 31.80 35.29 13.87 31.34 23.09 ×
× × ○ ○ ○
4 31.68 35.10 13.51 23.59 21.70 ×
× × ○ × ○
5 32.93 36.59 14.20 25.67 23.86 ×
× × ○ × ○
6 32.58 36.49 14.26 24.24 24.45 ×
× × ○ × ○
7 31.82 35.49 14.66 27.56 24.81 ×
× × ○ × ○
8 31.26 34.72 14.74 32.24 25.00 ×
× × ○ ○ ○
9 33.07 36.23 17.12 32.97 22.64 ×
× × × ○ ○
10 35.14 38.53 18.43 34.21 20.05 ×
× × × ○ ○
11 32.37 35.46 15.90 32.36 25.43 ×
× × × ○ ○
12 32.07 34.95 16.15 33.93 23.93 ×
× × × ○ ○
13 32.56 35.46 17.31 33.55 20.85 ×
× × × ○ ○

  As can be seen from Table 2, all of the green tea extracts of Examples 1 to 18 show values in an appropriate range of green by a spectral color difference meter, and the total catechin content is 30% or more. In particular, the green tea extract of Examples 1 to 15 in which the organic solvent concentration in the second extraction step is 90% or more preferably has a green hue, and the organic solvent concentration in the first extraction step is 50 to 60%. 4, 5, 11, and 12 have good yields. In Examples 8 and 15, the yield of the extract is low. This is because the moisture content of the extraction solvent in the first extraction step is low, so that extraction of catechins and the like is insufficient, and familiarity with the organic solvent is poor overall. This is probably because the extraction efficiency is not sufficient.

  On the other hand, according to Table 4, the green tea extracts of Comparative Examples 1 to 13 are insufficient in at least one of color evaluation and total catechin content. Comparative Example 1 is a preferred green color, but the catechin content is low, and Comparative Examples 3 and 8 to 13 have a good catechin content, but have a high X value for red and a visually yellow-green hue. It is not a preferable green color. In Comparative Examples 2 and 4 to 7, neither the catechin content nor the color tone is satisfactory.

  When the results of Tables 2 and 4 were plotted on a graph with the solvent concentration P as the x-axis and the solvent concentration Q as the y-axis, Examples 9 to 11 and 16 to 18 in which good green tea extracts were obtained, and the color difference values When the comparative examples 2 to 3 and 6 to 10 that are not specified are separated by a boundary line, this boundary line can be 9980 = (33x + 100y), and the example satisfies 9980 ≦ (33x + 100y), In Comparative Examples 2 to 13, 9980> (33x + 100y). This boundary line is mainly a boundary line related to extraction of the color components.

(Examples 19 to 22)
Put 80 g of green tea leaves into a glass column with an inner diameter of 5 cm and a height of 40 cm, pour 320 ml of water-containing ethanol with organic solvent concentration I listed in Table 5 and let stand at room temperature for the extraction time I listed in Table 5, then open the cock As a result, Extract 1 was obtained. Next, 320 ml of water-containing ethanol having the organic solvent concentration II shown in Table 5 was poured into the extraction residue moistened with the pre-extraction solvent, and left at room temperature for the extraction time II shown in Table 5, and then the cock was opened for extraction. Liquid 2 was obtained. Further, 320 ml of water-containing ethanol having the organic solvent concentration III shown in Table 5 was poured into the extraction residue moistened with the pre-extraction solvent, left standing for the extraction time III shown in Table 5, the cock was opened, and the extract 3 Got. Extracts 1-3 were mixed and filtered through No. 2 filter paper, and then the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure and freeze-dried to obtain a green tea extract. Table 6 shows the yield of the obtained extract, the color evaluation by the XYZ color system, and the amount of catechin.

(Table 5)
Examples Concentration I Extraction time Concentration II Extraction time Concentration III Extraction time
(V / V) I (V / V) II (V / V) III
5 60.0% 30 minutes 60.0% 30 minutes 99.5% 10 minutes 19 60.0% 30 minutes 60.0% 30 minutes 99.5% 30 minutes 20 60.0% 30 minutes 60.0% 30 minutes 99.5% 60 minutes 21 60.0% 30 minutes 99.5% 10 minutes 99.5% 10 minutes
22 60.0% 30 minutes 99.5% 30 minutes 99.5% 30 minutes

(Table 6)
Example XYZ Total catechin amount (%) Yield (%) Evaluation 5 19.69 22.08 8.57 34.28 27.29 ○
○ ○ ○ ○ ○
19 18.37 20.59 9.26 34.10 29.19 ○
○ ○ ○ ○ ○
20 17.06 19.19 7.63 35.13 25.51 ○
○ ○ ○ ○ ○
21 7.64 8.48 4.31 33.68 21.13 ○
○ ○ ○ ○ ○
22 14.91 16.75 6.96 34.04 22.43 ○
○ ○ ○ ○ ○

(Examples 23 to 24)
Put 80 g of green tea leaves into a glass column with an inner diameter of 5 cm and a height of 40 cm, pour 320 ml of water-containing ethanol with organic solvent concentration I listed in Table 7 and let stand at room temperature for the extraction time I listed in Table 7, then open the cock As a result, Extract 1 was obtained. Next, 320 ml of water-containing ethanol having the solvent concentration I shown in Table 7 was poured into the extraction residue moistened with the pre-extraction solvent, allowed to stand at room temperature for the extraction time I shown in Table 7, and then the cock was opened to extract the extract. 2 was obtained. Further, 320 ml of water-containing ethanol having the solvent concentration II shown in Table 7 was poured into the extraction residue moistened with the pre-extraction solvent, left standing for the extraction time II shown in Table 7, the cock was opened, and the extract 3 was obtained. Obtained. Further, 320 ml of water-containing ethanol having a solvent concentration of II shown in Table 7 was poured into the extraction residue moistened with the pre-extraction solvent, left standing for the extraction time II shown in Table 7, and then the cock was opened to extract the extract 4. Obtained. Extracts 1 to 4 were mixed and filtered through No. 2 filter paper. The filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure and freeze-dried to obtain a green tea extract. Table 8 shows the yield of the obtained extract, the color evaluation by the XYZ color system, and the amount of catechin.

(Table 7)
Example Concentration I Extraction Time Concentration II Extraction Time
(V / V) I (V / V) II
23 60.0% 30 minutes 99.5% 10 minutes
24 60.0% 30 minutes 99.5% 30 minutes

(Table 8)
Example XYZ Total catechin amount (%) Yield (%) Evaluation 23 17.27 19.41 7.58 35.11 24.35 ○
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24 13.70 15.46 5.41 34.33 28.54 ○
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  From Examples 19 to 24, it can be seen that a green tea extract having a deep green color can be obtained by increasing the number of times or the extraction time of the second extraction step using a high concentration solvent. These results mean that the highly lipophilic component contained in the green tea leaves tends to require more time for elution than the highly hydrophilic component. On the other hand, by increasing the number of times of the first extraction step using a low-concentration solvent, the extraction amount of water-soluble components such as catechins is increased and the yield is improved. Therefore, in terms of yield, it is preferable that the number of times of the first extraction step is two times or more, and the number of times of the second extraction step and the extraction time can be appropriately adjusted according to the desired color tone. The time is generally about 10 to 30 minutes.

(Examples 25-26)
80 g of green tea leaves are put in a glass column having an inner diameter of 5 cm and a height of 40 cm, and 320 ml of a water-containing organic solvent (Example 25: water-containing acetone, Example 26: water-containing methanol) with an organic solvent concentration of 60 (V / V) is poured. After leaving still at room temperature for a minute, the cock was opened to obtain Extract 1. Subsequently, 320 ml of the same water-containing organic solvent as described above was poured into the extraction residue moist with the pre-extraction solvent, and left at room temperature for 30 minutes, and then the cock was opened to obtain an extract 2. Further, 320 m of a water-containing organic solvent (Example 25: water-containing acetone, Example 26: water-containing methanol) having an organic solvent concentration of 99.5 (V / V)% was poured into the extraction residue wet with the pre-extraction solvent for 10 minutes. After standing at room temperature, the cock was opened to obtain extract 3. Extracts 1-3 were mixed and filtered through No. 2 filter paper. The filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure and freeze-dried to obtain a green tea extract. Table 9 shows the yield of the obtained extract, the color evaluation by the XYZ color system, and the amount of catechin.

(Table 9)
Example XYZ Total catechin amount (%) Yield (%) Evaluation 25 16.37 18.11 7.76 36.60 31.24 ○
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26 26.89 29.98 12.38 34.73 26.83 ○
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  As a result of Examples 25 to 26, it can be seen that acetone and methanol can also be used as the hydrophilic organic solvent constituting the extraction solvent, and a preferable green tea extract can be obtained.

(Example 27)
Pour 431 ml of water-containing ethanol with an organic solvent concentration of 80 (V / V)% into 80 g of finely pulverized green tea leaves, let stand at room temperature for 45 minutes, then stir the extraction solvent. 1 was taken from green tea leaves. Next, 300 ml of 95 (V / V)% aqueous ethanol was poured into the extraction residue moistened with the pre-extraction solvent, and the mixture was allowed to stand at room temperature for 60 minutes, and then the extract 2 was separated from the green tea leaves. Furthermore, 300 ml of 95 (V / V)% aqueous ethanol was poured into the extraction residue moistened with the pre-extraction solvent, allowed to stand at room temperature for 45 minutes, and then stirred for another 45 minutes at room temperature. Extract 3 was collected from green tea leaves. Extracts 1-3 were mixed and filtered through No. 2 filter paper. The filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure and spray-dried to obtain a green tea extract. Table 10 shows the yield of the obtained extract, the color evaluation by the XYZ color system, and the amount of catechin.

(Example 28)
In the same manner as in Example 27, a mixture of the extract liquids 1 to 3 was obtained. This was filtered through No. 2 filter paper, and then the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure and further dried by distillation under reduced pressure to obtain a green tea extract. Table 10 shows the yield of the obtained extract, the color evaluation by the XYZ color system, and the amount of catechin.

(Table 10)
Example XYZ Total catechin amount (%) Yield (%) Evaluation 27 14.15 14.69 4.11 38.58 27.40 ○
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28 11.62 12.26 6.79 41.45 23.90 ○
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  From the results of color evaluation in Examples 27 to 28, it is understood that by pulverizing green tea leaves, the penetration of the organic solvent into the tea leaves is improved and the extraction efficiency of the color components is improved. It is also clear that the green tea extract can be dried without affecting the color by spray drying or vacuum drying.

(Example 29)
An instant tea was prepared by mixing a commercially available green tea extract (Theafranc 30F, manufactured by ITO EN Co., Ltd.) and the green tea extract of Example 5 at a ratio (mass ratio) of 2: 1. This was dissolved in water so that the catechin concentration would be 800 ppm, and ascorbic acid was added as an antioxidant and adjusted to pH 6.3 with sodium bicarbonate to prepare a packaged tea beverage.

  A packaged tea beverage having a catechin concentration of 800 ppm and a pH of 6.3 was prepared in the same manner as above except that the green tea extract of Example 5 was not used.

  When the above two tea beverages were compared, the tea beverage blended with the green tea extract of Example 5 felt better in green tea flavor, and the one blended with the green tea extract of Example 5 visually. The color of the tea beverage that exhibited a remarkably bright green color and did not contain the green tea extract of Example 5 was yellow.

(Example 30)
Instant tea was prepared in the same manner as in Example 29 except that the ratio of Tearfuran 30F and the green tea extract of Example 5 was changed to 1: 1. When a tea beverage was similarly prepared using this, the flavor was a high-quality green tea flavor and visually a fresh green color including green.

(Comparative Example 14)
Referring to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-224142, 125 g of green tea leaves were extracted with warm water at 70 ° C. for 10 minutes, roughly filtered with a 106 μm mesh, and then centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 10 minutes. This was filtered through No. 2 filter paper to obtain a hot water extract.

  On the other hand, 5 g of green tea leaves (sencha) was added to 15 g of hydrous ethanol prepared to a concentration of 95 (V / V)%, extracted with stirring for 5 minutes, the tea leaves were removed through a 106 μm mesh, and filtered with No. 2 filter paper. Thus, a water-containing ethanol extract was obtained.

  The warm water extract obtained above and the aqueous ethanol extract were mixed, concentrated and freeze-dried to obtain 18.77 g of a green tea extract. The yield of the obtained extract, the color evaluation by the XYZ color system and the amount of catechin were measured. The X value: 31.88, the Y value: 35.58, the Z value: 12.85, the total catechin amount: 26 The yield was 14.44%. The color of this extract was visually yellowish green.

(Comparative Example 15)
Put 80 g of green tea leaves in a glass column with an inner diameter of 5 cm and a height of 40 cm, pour 320 ml of water-containing ethanol with a concentration of 80 (V / V)%, let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes, and then open the cock to obtain extract 1. It was. Next, 320 ml of water-containing ethanol having a concentration of 60 (V / V)% was poured into the extraction residue moistened with the pre-extraction solvent, allowed to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, and then the cock was opened to obtain an extract 2. Further, 320 ml of water-containing ethanol having a concentration of 60 (V / V)% was poured into the extraction residue moistened with the pre-extraction solvent, and allowed to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, and then the cock was opened to obtain an extract 3. Extracts 1 to 3 were mixed and filtered through No. 2 filter paper. The filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure and freeze-dried to obtain 15.25 g of a green tea extract. The yield of the obtained extract, the color evaluation by the XYZ color system and the amount of catechin were measured. The X value: 32.71, the Y value: 35.65, the Z value: 16.53, the total catechin amount: 34. The yield was 19.06%. The color of this extract was visually yellow but yellow.

(Comparative Example 16)
900 ml of hot water at 80 ° C. was added to 90 g of green tea leaves and extracted for 15 minutes to obtain Extract 1. To the extraction residue after extraction, 700 ml of hot water at 90 ° C. was added and extracted for 10 minutes to obtain Extract 2. Extracts 1 and 2 were mixed and centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 10 minutes to collect the supernatant, and the furnace liquid filtered through No. 2 filter paper was concentrated under reduced pressure and then freeze-dried to obtain 20.7 g of a green tea extract. . The yield of the obtained extract, the color evaluation by the XYZ color system and the amount of catechin were measured. The X value: 33.57, the Y value: 37.23, the Z value: 17.65, the total catechin amount: The yield was 24.62% and the yield was 23.0%. The color of this extract was visually yellow.

(Example 31)
Put 80 g of green tea leaves into a glass column with an inner diameter of 5 cm and a height of 40 cm, pour 320 ml of water-containing ethanol with a concentration of 80 (V / V)%, let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, and then opened the cock to obtain an extract. . This was concentrated under reduced pressure and then freeze-dried to obtain 4.6 g of a green tea extract. The yield of the obtained extract, the color evaluation by the XYZ color system and the amount of catechin were measured. X value: 23.14, Y value: 26.24, Z value: 11.63, total catechin amount: 37 The yield was 5.83%. This extract was good in total catechin content and visually bright green, but the yield was very low.

(Comparative Example 17)
Put 80 g of green tea leaves in a glass column with an inner diameter of 5 cm and a height of 40 cm, pour 320 ml of water-containing ethanol with a concentration of 99.5 (V / V)%, let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, open the cock and extract 1 Got. Next, 320 ml of water-containing ethanol having a concentration of 99.5 (V / V)% was poured into the extraction residue moistened with the pre-extraction solvent, allowed to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, and then the cock was opened to obtain an extract 2. It was. Extracts 1 and 2 were mixed and filtered through No. 2 filter paper. The filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure and then freeze-dried to obtain 1.62 g of green tea extract. The yield of the obtained extract, the color evaluation by the XYZ color system, and the amount of catechin were measured. X value: 16.53, Y value: 18.35, Z value: 7.56, total catechin amount: 20 The yield was 2.02%. Although this extract was visually bright green, the total amount of catechin was small and the yield was extremely low.

Claims (7)

The green tea extract has an X value of 7 to 30, an Y value of 8 to 34, a Z value of 4 to 15 and a total catechin content of 30% by mass or more as measured by a spectrocolorimeter. A production method, wherein a first extraction step of extracting green tea leaves with a first water-containing organic solvent, a second extraction step of extracting green tea leaves after the first extraction step with a second water-containing organic solvent, and And a recovery step of recovering the extract contained in the extract obtained in the first extraction step and the extract obtained in the second extraction step together, and setting the organic solvent concentration of the first hydrous organic solvent to P [%, Volume / volume], where the organic solvent concentration of the second water-containing organic solvent is Q [%, volume / volume], P and Q satisfy the following formula .
20 ≦ P ≦ 90, 80 ≦ Q, and 9980 ≦ (33P + 100Q) The method for producing a green tea extract according to claim 1, wherein the green tea extract is in a powder form. The method for producing a green tea extract according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the organic solvent is one or a mixture of two or more selected from the group consisting of ethanol, methanol, and acetone. The method for producing a green tea extract according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first water-containing organic solvent and the second water-containing organic solvent contain the same hydrophilic organic solvent as the organic solvent. The said organic solvent density | concentration Q is higher than the said organic solvent density | concentration P, and is the range of 80-99.5%, The manufacturing method of the green tea extract in any one of Claims 1-4. The said collection | recovery process has a mixing process which prepares the mixture of the extract obtained by the said 1st extraction process, and the extract obtained by the said 2nd extraction process, and the drying process which dries the said mixture. 6. The method for producing a green tea extract according to any one of 5 above. At least one of the first extraction step and the second extraction step is repeated twice or more, and the ratio of the total amount of the first water-containing organic solvent and the total amount of the second water-containing organic solvent is 2/1 to 1 in volume ratio. It is the range of / 2, The manufacturing method of the green tea extract in any one of Claims 1-6.