Comparison of polyphenol content between laboratory processed Laphet and China and Myanmar tea (Camellia sinensis) products.

Green tea, black tea and laphet (fermented pickled tea leaves) from China and Myanmar were extracted using hot water extraction method and their phenol compounds were compared. The total polyphenol content (TPC) was determined spectrophotometrically, while the phenolic compounds were determined by HPLC. Laphet contained more than twice as much polyphenol than fresh tea leaves. Chinese green tea showed higher TPC than Myanmar green tea. However, Myanmar black tea had higher TPC than Chinese black tea. For laphet, no substantial difference was observed. In the qualitative analysis by HPLC method, laphet had higher phenolic compounds (EGC, C, CA and EC), but lower EGCG and ECG compared to fresh tea leaves. Chinese green contained higher EGC, CA and EGCG. But C, EC and EGC were higher in Myanmar green tea. In black tea comparison, all phenolic contents of Chinese black tea were lower than Myanmar black tea. Like in spectrophotometric method, HPLC analysis showed no difference in laphet results. According to these findings, Chinese green tea could give more health benefits than other tea products, because Chinese green tea had the highest polyphenol contents.