The Chemistry and Bioactivity of Thearubigins

LI Da-xiang; WANG Hua; BAI Rui; XIAN Shu; WAN Xiao-chun

doi:10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2013.04.006

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Journal of Tea Science ›› 2013, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (4) : 327-335. DOI: 10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2013.04.006

The Chemistry and Bioactivity of Thearubigins

LI Da-xiang¹, WANG Hua², BAI Rui¹, XIAN Shu¹, WAN Xiao-chun¹

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Abstract

Thearubigins are mixtures of heterogeneous acidic phenolic pigments, which are condensed oligomers or polymers from catechins and theaflavins. Thearubigins contribute to tea color, the body strength, intensity and liquor color of a black tea brew. Due to their heterogeneity, their solubility and chromatographic behaviors are dissilimar and their structures are still ambiguous. The classic isolation method of the thearubigin subfractions has been developed with organic solvent extraction. So far, no thearubigin monomer has been reported. However, some studies have demonstrated that thearubigins possess antioxidative, anti-tumor, anti-mutagenic, anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, anti-leukemic, obesity-preventive and even anti-neurotoxin activities in vitro and in animal models since 1990s. As the abundant polyphenolic compounds in black tea, thearubigins may be the potential active compounds contributing to human health.

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bioactivity / black tea / structure / thearubigins

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LI Da-xiang, WANG Hua, BAI Rui, XIAN Shu, WAN Xiao-chun. The Chemistry and Bioactivity of Thearubigins[J]. Journal of Tea Science. 2013, 33(4): 327-335 https://doi.org/10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2013.04.006

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