ULTRA-GREEN™TEA (Unfermented Rooibos Tea)

Uniquely South African herbal tea-like beverages have been produced from Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) and Honeybush (Cyclopia intermedia and subternata). Rooibos herbal tea is already well known in a number of export markets, whilst lesser-known Honeybush herbal tea has recently been introduced locally and internationally.

Market exposure enjoyed to date has mostly been in “fermented” form. This “fermented” form is achieved through a combination of wetting, heating and drying of leaves and stalks which yield most of the characteristic colour, flavour and aroma of these herbal tea-like products. This process is understood to involve thorough oxidation of the naturally occurring poly-phenolic compounds. The dry material is then classified, sifted (to remove stalks and fine organic “dust”) and pasteurised to yield brownish-red dry herbal tea leaves. The tea leaves are mostly packaged in individual tea bags and are used in a similar fashion to normal black tea ready for hot water brewing.

Recently, market demand has called for the production of unfermented or semi-fermented herbal teas. The green formats are seen to yield dry green herbal teas in which maximum levels of the original naturally occurring anti-oxidants are retained. A recent international publication (“An Investigation on the anti-mutagenic properties of South African herbal teas,” Leanine L. Marnewick, Wentzel C.A. Gelderblom, Elizabeth Joubert, published in “Mutation Research 471 (2000) 157-166, Elsevier Science B.V.), clearly points to superior anti-mutagenic (anti-cancerous) characteristics of green tea formats compared to that of “fermented” or oxidized formats of Aspalathus and Cyclopia.
A South African patent describing a process for producing an unfermented or “green” dried plant material from a fresh source of the plant material includes the step of pasteurizing or drying appropriate portions of the plant material under appropriate conditions (low temperature, deep vacuum) whilst minimizing contact of the plant material with oxygen in order to inhibit oxidation thereof.


HEALTH LINKS

Oxygen is essential for aerobic existence. However, the paradox of an aerobic environment, or the “Oxygen Paradox”, is that oxygen is inherently dangerous. Due to the inherent reductive environment of the cellular milieu, ample opportunities exist for oxygen to undergo unscheduled univalent reductions.

Thus, the normal metabolism of oxygen results in the formation of the free radicals superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, the extremely reactive hydroxyl radical and other similar reactive nitrogen species. To survive in such an unfriendly oxygen environment, living organisms generate, or use from their surroundings, a variety of water- and lipid-soluble antioxidant compounds. It is also known that all aerobic organisms synthesize a series of antioxidant enzymes, whose role is to intercept and inactivate reactive oxygen and nitrogen intermediates. In a perfect environment, the biology of the body would be able to regulate itself naturally. However, despite the natural antioxidant and repair mechanisms described above, oxidative damage remains an inescapable outcome of a modern environment.

In a review article “The Effect of Plant Flavonoids on Mammalian Cells: Implications for Inflammation, Heart Disease, and Cancer”, Middleton E et al, Pharmacological Reviews, Volume 52, page 673 – 751, 2000, the degenerative processes and related diseases caused by oxidative stress are summarised. The degenerative processes and related diseases caused by oxidative stress are said to include mutagenesis, cell transformation and human cancer; atherosclerosis, arteriosclerosis, heart attacks, strokes and ischaemia / reperfusion events; chronic inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus erythematosus and psoriatic arthritis; acute inflammatory problems, such as wound healing; photo-oxidative stresses to the eye, such as cataract; central-nervous-system disorders, such as certain forms of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, certain glutathione peroxidase-linked adolescent seizure, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s dementia; and a wide variety of age-related disorders, perhaps even including factors underlying the ageing process itself.
The article reflects the necessity to supplement traditional diets with antioxidants. Popular antioxidants include Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Selenium as trace element and carotenoids such as beta-carotene, lycopene and lutein.

Antioxidants combat free radical activity and an antioxidant is any substance that, when present at low concentrations compared to those of an oxidizable substrate significantly delays or prevents the oxidation of the substrate.

Some of the more popular synthetic antioxidants used are phenolic compounds such as butylated hydroxyanisol (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) and esters of gallic acid. The four major synthetic antioxidants in use are subjected to a ‘good manufacturing practice’ limit of 0,02 % of the fat or oil content of the food. These antioxidants are predominantly used as a mechanism for food preservation and shelf life extension.

It is generally accepted that natural antioxidants are more potent, efficient and safer than synthetic antioxidants.

Recently, plant polyphenols have also been added to the list of recognised natural antioxidants. These bio molecules are found ubiquitous in plants and are accredited with the health promoting aspects associated with the consumption of fruits, vegetables and teas.

However, it has also been established that variations in the structure of different polyphenols lead to variations in the antioxidant capacities per equivalent polyphenol weight and that variations in bio-availability and bio-functionalities are observed.

Typical hot water infusions of unfermented Aspalathus linearis specifically provide a composition rich in the unique antioxidant, Aspalathin, a flavonoid C-glycoside dihydrochalcone. It’s antioxidant capacity is further complimented with the significant presence of the flavonoids nothafagin, orientin, iso-orientin, vitexin and iso-vitexin.

* No direct health claims have been proven through completion of clinical studies. However, the positive influence of natural plant flavonoids on human health and well being, mainly through the mechanisms of free radical scavenging, has been widely accepted. Numerous in-vitro and in-vivo research model studies of the antioxidant and antiradical characteristics of this class of molecules have been published in peer-reviewed journals (see detailed description below).


PRODUCT SPECIFICATION SHEET
The product specification sheet is given below.

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