Antioxidative activity of green tea catechin extract compared with that of rosemary extract
This study compared the antioxidative activity of green tea catechin (GTC) extract with that of rosemary extract in canola oil, pork lard, and chicken fat. The GTC extract was obtained from jasmine and longjing green teas and mainly consisted of four epicatechin isomers including (−)epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), (−)epigallocatechin (EGC), (−)epicatechin (EC), and (−)epicatechin gallate (ECG). The oxidation was conducted at 100 ± 2°C by monitoring oxygen uptake. The oxygen consumption test demonstrated that GTC extract was much more effective than the rosemary extract against lipid oxidation in canola oil, pork lard, and chicken fat under the conditions of the present study. Together with our previous study which showed that GTC extract was more protective than butylated hydroxytoluene as an antioxidant, these results suggest that GTC as a mixture of EGCG, EGC, EC, and ECG may serve as an antioxidant in processed foods.
