2026Journal articleFree to read
Kadrin Meremäe, Piret Raudsepp, Linda Rusalepp, Mati Roasto
EMU DSpace
Consumers are increasingly interested in natural, plant-based additives as alternatives to synthetic compounds in food products. This study investigated the polyphenolic profiles, total polyphenol content (TPC), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and antibacterial activity of aqueous and 30% ethanolic extracts of green tea, matcha tea, black tea, and yerba mate. Commercial teas (Camellia sinensis) and mate (Ilex paraguariensis) were purchased in Tartu, Estonia. The tea and mate leaves were powdered (< 1 mm), and extracts prepared with water or 30% ethanol. Polyphenolic compounds were analysed using HPLC-DAD-MS, TPC was quantified as gallic acid equivalents, and TAC was determined spectrophotometrically using the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) against Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Campylobacter jejuni were determined by broth microdilution according to the EVS-EN ISO, 20776–1:2020 standard. In total, 28 polyphenolic compounds were detected, including hydroxybenzoic acids, hydroxycinnamic acids, flavanols, flavonols, and tea pigments. Mate extracts were rich in chlorogenic acids, while tea extracts contained higher proportions of flavanols, particularly epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate, and epigallocatechin gallate. Ethanolic extracts of mate (5.16 ± 0.02 mg GAE/mL) and green tea (4.68 ± 0.08 mg GAE/mL) had the highest TPC, wheras matcha tea (5.50 ± 0.01 mg GAE/mL) and green tea (5.82 ± 0.00 mg GAE/mL) showed the strongest TAC. In aqueous extracts, mate and green tea had the highest TPC (3.02 ± 0.34 and 1.77 ± 0.03 mg GAE/mL, respectively), and the strongest TAC (4.05 ± 0.01 and 3.48 ± 0.10 mg GAE/mL). All extracts inhibited the growth of S. aureus, with MIC values ranging from 0.06 to 0.27 mg…
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Study type
Observational (human)
Surveys, cohorts and consumer studies, with no intervention.
Assigned automatically from the title, abstract and subject terms.
Topics
Matcha is a main subject here (named in the keywords).
Kadrin Meremäe, Piret Raudsepp, Linda Rusalepp, Mati Roasto. (2026). Antioxidant and antibacterial activity of tea and mate extracts. EMU DSpace.
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