2003 Volume 63 Issue 2 Pages 89-96
Commercial green tea leaves were ground to a fine powder with a ceramic mortar and the powder characteristics were determined and evaluated for flowability using Carr's flowability index. The finely powdered green tea (PT) showed high compressibility of 49.1%, and a flowability index of 28.5 (flowability was “Very Poor”). By the addition of Perfiller®-101, the angle of repose and compressibility decreased and flowability was greatly improved, to the point of being sufficient for handling and dispensing. Released amounts of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and caffeine from PT were about 10 times higher than those of unpowdered commercial green tea leaves. Additionally, the ratio of amount of EGCG to caffeine released from PT was higher than that from unpowdered commercial green tea leaves. Although the 50% release time of caffeine was shorter than that of EGCG from unpowdered commercial green tea leaves, there was little difference in the 50% release time of caffeine and EGCG from PT.
