Fresh Breath Effect of Tea Polyphenols from Camellia sinensis

Breath malodor is an important social and health problem. It is reported that 6-23% of the general population suffers from some degree of malodor above the acceptable limit (Miyazaki, et al. J. Perio. 1995). Although many progresses have been made on oral malodor research, new technological development for the treatment or prevention of bad breath is still needed. Tea and its products have been consumed for thousands of years. Chinese tea was not only traditionally a beverage, but also as used for reducing certain food-induced malodor.

Objective: This study was to explore the potential mechanism of tea extracts for reducing oral malodor. Method: Tea extracts were prepared from the leaves of Camellia sinensis by water extraction at 60 ^oC for 30 min. Reversed-Phase HPLC (RP-HPLC) was conducted to identify the individual components. Mass Spectrometry (MS), GC and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy were used to study the interaction of tea polyphenol with volatile sulphur compounds in a methyl mercaptan (MeSH) reaction model. Results: RP-HPLC revealed that the extracts contain four major polyphenol peaks and Theaflavin. The four polyphenols were further identified as EGCG, EGC, ECG and EC, in which EGCG constituted the majority. In the MeSH reaction, combined fragmentation analysis by MS and FT-IR (methyl mercapto- 685 - 705 cm^-1) indicated that the 6-Carbon position of EGCG bonds strongly to MeSH. In the same reaction model, EGC, ECG, EC and Theaflavin were found to bind to MeSH in different degrees. The combination of individual polyphenols also showed various patterns of MeSH reduction. Formulation development is currently in progress for preparation of an organoleptic evaluation, based on the optimal combination of polyphenols. Conclusion: The results suggest that tea polyphenols from Camellia sinensis are capable of reducing oral malodor. The potential model of action is due to neutralization of volatile sulphur compounds.