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Green Tea Definitions
Here are some brief definitions of words and terms you'll come across
while reading about green tea. First and foremost, of course, is a
definition of green tea:
Green tea - An infusion that's made from
the leaves of
the Camellia sinensis bush, which are rushed from the field to the processing plant
as soon as they are plucked. There the leaves are steamed or pan-fired immediately to prevent them from
fermenting. These unfermented tea leaves contain large amounts of catechins,
which are powerful disease fighters and potent antioxidants. And green
tea is the only natural source of large amounts of catechins.
Other pertinent terms:
Black Tea - An infusion made from
leaves taken from the
Camellia sinensis bush which are then withered and crushed,
causing fermentation. This transforms the catechins into thearubigens
and theaflavins, which do confer some important health benefits but not as
many as the catechins.
Catechins - Substances found in
green tea which have powerful antioxidant and disease-fighting
properties. They belong to the flavonoid family which, in turn, belongs
to the larger family of the polyphenols. The catechins include gallocatechin (GC),
epicatechin (EC), epigallocatechiin (EGC), epicatechin gallate (ECg) and
epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg).
Epigallocatechin
gallate (EGCg) - Of the five catechins found in green tea,
EGCg is believed to be the strongest and to confer the greatest number
of health benefits.
Flavonoids - A subgroup of the
polyphenols, the flavonoids are a large group of
substances with vitamin-like properties that are found primarily in fruits and flowers.
Among the many subgroups of the flavonoids are the catechins.
Polyphenols - The polyphenols are
compounds with
antioxidant, anti-bacterial and anti-cancer activity that are found in green tea
and other foods and plants. Among the many kinds of polyphenols are the
flavonoids and the catechins.
Theaflavins and thearubigens - Found primarily
in black tea, theaflavins result from the oxidation of green tea catechins. When
tea leaves are fermented to create black tea, the exposure to oxygen changes the catechins into theaflavins and thearubigens. These compounds
give black tea its characteristic color, aroma and taste and may have certain
heart protective and anti-cancer properties.
White tea - Almost identical to green
tea, white tea is made from the tender uppermost buds (baby leaves) of the
Camellia sinensis bush. White tea gets its name from the fine white hair that covers
the buds. White tea properly harvested and processed can contain even more catechins than green
tea.
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Nadine Taylor, M.S., R.D. presents
GreenTeaLibrary.com, the most comprehensive collection of scientific
information describing the many health benefits and properties of green tea.
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