한국 녹차 화분의 화학적 조성과 기능성 연구

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the nutritional composition including proximate, amino acid, vitamin, minerals, and the antioxidant activity of green tea (Camellia sinensis) pollen grains collected by Apis mellifera bees, for use as a health food. The crude protein and fat content was estimated at 26.14% and 3.49%, respectively. Eighteen amino acids were identified in green tea pollen, including 8 essential amino acids and 10 non-essential amino acids. The predominant amino acids were glutamic acid, proline and aspartic acid accounting for about 33.3% of total free amino acids. The concentration of vitamin C was the highest value of 35.7%, followed by B3 and B2 among the detected vitamins. The predominant minerals were potassium (790.32 mg/100g), followed by phosphorus (707.52 mg/100g) and sulfur (302.67 mg/100g), whereas copper, zinc and sodium were detected as minor elements. The antioxidant activity and phenolic content accounted for 33.8% at 500 μg/mL extract and 2.55 μg/mg, respectively.