The "bubble" on the surface of tea soup - Tea Saponin
When making tea, you will often see a layer of "bubbles" floating on the surface of the tea soup. At the same time, there will be more "bubbles" in the first two or three brews. What are these "bubbles"? Some people think they are pesticide residues or impurity residues in tea, and they think it is a sign of poor tea quality. But in fact, the generation of foam in tea soup is mainly due to the presence of a substance called tea saponin in tea leaves. Scientific research shows that tea saponin has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic effects, so it is not only harmless to the human body, but actually beneficial.
1. What is tea saponin?
As early as ancient times, people paid attention to the foam that appeared when making tea and regarded this "white foam" as an essence.
Now scientific research has further proved that the substance that can produce this "foam" is called tea saponin. Tea saponin is also known as saponin and saponin. It is called "saponin" because its aqueous solution and oscillation can produce persistent foam like soap solution. Saponins are widely found in more than 90 families and 500 genera of plants in nature. These plants include common oil crops such as soybeans and camellia oleifera, as well as valuable Chinese medicinal materials such as ginseng, Codonopsis pilosula, Aesculus aesculata, licorice, Adenophora adenophora, and Pulsatilla spp. In addition, some marine organisms such as starfish can also secrete saponins.
Tea saponin is a type of natural glycoside compound contained in Camellia plants. It is a mixture of oleanane-type pentacyclic triterpene saponins. Its basic structure consists of three parts: sapogenin, glycosomes and organic acids. Tea saponin has the properties of camellia plant saponins. It is a colorless and ashless fine columnar crystal with a melting point of 223~224°C. It tastes bitter and pungent, can foam, and has hemolysis. Tea saponin crystals are insoluble in solvents such as ether, chloroform, acetone, benzene, and petroleum ether, and are insoluble in cold water, anhydrous ethanol, and anhydrous methanol. However, they are slightly soluble in warm water, carbon disulfide, and ethyl acetate, and are easily soluble in water. In methanol, aqueous ethanol, n-butanol, glacial acetic acid, acetic anhydride and pyridine, its solubility increases significantly in dilute alkaline aqueous solutions.
Tea saponin is distributed in the roots, stems, leaves and seeds of the tea tree, but its molecular structure is different, resulting in different physical properties. In terms of content alone, tea seeds have the highest saponin content, and the content of tea saponin in the whole seeds of different tea tree seeds varies.
2. Application fields of tea saponin
Regarding the utilization of tea saponin, ancient Chinese workers have known for a long time that tea seed cakes were soaked in water and used for washing clothes and hair. The "Compendium of Materia Medica" published in 1590 has a record of "pounding tea seeds to wash clothes and remove greasiness", and this refers to the role of tea saponin in tea seed cake meal. Since it was first isolated and discovered by Jiro Aoyama of Japan in 1931, tea saponin has received comprehensive and in-depth scientific research. Modern medical research shows that tea saponin has hemolytic and fish-toxic effects, anti-insect and bactericidal effects, anti-penetration and anti-inflammatory, phlegm and cough, analgesic, anti-cancer and other pharmacological functions, and it also has the effect of promoting plant growth. In addition, tea saponin also has good emulsification, dispersion, wetting, decontamination, foaming and other surface activities, and is a natural surfactant with excellent performance. Therefore, tea saponin is widely used in washing, wool spinning, knitting, medicine, daily chemicals, construction industry and other fields.
1. Application in daily chemical industry
Tea seed cake soaked in water has been used for washing and shampooing since ancient times. Folks generally believe that tea seed cake water can make hair soft and shiny after washing, and can remove dandruff and relieve itching. In modern times, tea saponin, as a natural product, is a rare surfactant material in the daily chemical industry.
Utilizing the surface active effect of tea saponin, it can be used as shampoo, shampoo, etc., which not only makes the hair shiny and feels good, but is actually non-toxic, safe to use, has hair care and skin care effects, and is anti-inflammatory and anti-itching. Anti-dandruff effect and other pharmacological functions; as a matrix component, tea saponin can be used in sunscreen and anti-inflammatory emollient creams, soaps, shower gels, etc.
Tea saponin can also be used for washing clothes. The natural nature of tea saponin and its non-destructiveness to protein and cellulose make tea saponin have incomparable advantages in washing wool, silk, down, etc., such as low color stripping ability. , no milling will occur, and the fabric will not lose its luster, etc.
2. Medical application developmen
Tea saponin has the effect of resolving phlegm and relieving cough, and can treat senile bronchitis and various types of edema. The developed tea seed syrup is effective in treating senile chronic bronchitis; according to Japanese patent (Patent No. JP07061988), tea saponin It can be used as an anti-influenza drug, and it can be chemically changed into α-glycosyl tea seed saponin, which can be used in a variety of medicines or health drinks and foods.
3.Natural pesticide
lt is used as a natural pesticide and biocontrol agent in agriculture.It has insecticidal, fungicidal, andnematicidal properties, making it an eco-friendly alternative to synthetic chemical pesticides.
4.Plant Growth Promoter
lt is sometimes used as a plant growth promoter.It can enhance root development, stimulateplant growth, and improve overall plant health.
5.Pharmaceutical Applications
Tea saponins are also being studied for their potential medicinal properties.Someresearch suggests that saponins may have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer effects.However,furtherstudies are still needed to fully understand their therapeutic potential.