Quantitation of the Total Catechin Content in Oils Extracted from Seeds of Selected Tea ( Camellia sinensis (L) O. Kuntze, Theaceae) Clones by RP -HPLC

Abstract

Catechins (flavan -3-ols) are polyphenolic plant secondary metabolites tha t have been strongly associated with a wide variety of beneficial health effects in vitro , in vivo and clinically. This study reports findings on the content of catechins in tea seed oil (TSO) extracted by Soxhlet extraction from seeds of different clones of Kenyan tea. Extraction of catechins from the crude oils was achie- ved by sequential liquid -liquid extraction (LLE) using methanol and quantified by reverse phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP -HPL C). Results obtained revealed that all the crude test oils contained catechins, with oils extracted from clones TRFK K -Purple and GW -Ejulu having the highest total catechin content of 9.8 ± 0.25 and 9.0 ± 0.83 (× 10 − 3 % flavonoids) respectively. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were evident in the total catechin contents of crude oils extracted from tea seeds with those extracted from corn, sunflower and soybean seeds. Mor e- over, clonal variations were evident , as the total catechin contents of oils extracted from clones TRFK K -Purple and GW -Ejulu were statistically different (p < 0.05) from those extracted from clones TRFK 301/3, TRFK 301/4, TRFK 301/5, TRFK 306, TRFK 91/1 and TRFCA SFS 150. Thus, the cu r- rent findings strongly suggest that oils from seeds of Kenyan tea cultivars can be a potential source of potent natural antioxidants.