Natural antioxidants. I. Antioxidative components of tea leaf (Thea sinensis L.).

Abstract

Antioxidative components in the leaves of green tea (Thea sinensis L.) were examined by using our evalution method based on the air oxidation of linoleic acid. l-Epicatechin showed the strongest activity, its 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50 : 3.54×10-3%) was nearly equal to that of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA).