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Gyokuro is a style of Japanese green tea produced by employing agricultural shading in the weeks before harvest. This method results in a tea product with different organoleptic and chemical properties than common Japanese green tea. In an effort to yield the highest quality and commercially valuable green tea product, the present study explores the influence of shading treatments and the duration of shading on the natural biochemistry of the green tea plant. This study applied shading treatments at light intensity conditions of 40%, 16%, 10% and 1% of available ambient light and the application of a red-colored shade cloth of 60% opacity. The Quality Index Tool was used to measure the quality and commercial value of the green tea, using individual target constituents (theanine, caffeine and the catechins) quantified from HPLC analysis. This study shows that very high levels of total visible spectrum light shading (~99%) is required to achieve improvements in quality and commercial value. Specifically, this improvement is a direct result of changes in the mood- modifying bioactive metabolites theanine and caffeine. This study concludes that in green tea growing regions with more hours of sunlight per year, such as on the Central Coast of Australia, more intense shading will achieve products with improved quality and commercial value, which has more potential to be marketed as a functional ingredient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increases in consumer awareness of the potential health benefits of green tea have driven global demand for green tea products. This study investigated the effect of post-harvest processing and storage of Japanese-styled green tea (Camellia sinensis var. sinensis) grown in NSW, Australia. Harvested material underwent a processing delay of 6, 12, 18 or 24 h at temperatures of 0, 5 and 25 °C. Targeted green tea constituents: theanine, caffeine and catechins were determined using HPLC with UV detection. Product quality and commercial value were determined using the Quality Index (QI) Tool. Reductions in constituent levels were evident within all storage delays, with nominal quality preservation achieved by reducing the temperature. The green tea material stored at 25 °C for 24 h created the most commercially valued product, despite it having visual characteristics more akin to a semi-fermented tea. These visual characteristics are traditionally considered markers of green tea damage and are discarded; however, QI-Tool scoring suggests that this raw material presents as a commercially favourable source of food loss and waste (FLW). The findings of this study extend our understanding of post-harvest processing delays and storage on green tea quality and suggest the viability of a commercially valuable semi-fermented produced from FLW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Herbal/nutrient weight-loss complementary medicines ( WLCMs) are widely available in community pharmacies and are popular with Australian consumers. Pharmacists have an obligation to ensure they provide appropriate advice to consumers about complementary medicines as they do with registered prescription medicines. Aims (i) To assess community pharmacists' knowledge regarding current evidence for the efficacy, potential side effects, and drug interactions of commonly sold/recommended WLCMs. (ii) To ascertain whether self-reported level of knowledge is a reliable predictor of WLCM knowledge. Method Pharmacists from a randomly selected sample of 214 community pharmacies in the Greater Brisbane region, Australia, were invited to complete a knowledge-based questionnaire relating to three commonly sold/recommended WLCMs - garcinia, green tea and chromium. Results Ninety-nine pharmacists completed the questionnaire (51% response rate). Approximately 20% selected the appropriate efficacy ratings for garcinia and green tea, with only 10% selecting the appropriate response for chromium. A mismatch was observed between what pharmacists recognised as adverse effects and interactions for the three common WLCMs compared to published findings, with a bias toward nervous system (i.e. insomnia and headache) and gastrointestinal side effects, and interactions with warfarin. Pharmacists who reported a good working knowledge were statistically able to identify only one of 14 adverse effects (insomnia associated with green tea) more than those reporting knowing little/don't remember/never heard of these WLCMs, yet were more likely to recommend the WLCMs green tea and chromium. Conclusion Irrespective of pharmacists' perceived levels of WLCM knowledge, there is a need for targeted education interventions focusing on commonly sold WLCMs that have potential safety concerns. Pharmacists should also understand the regulatory landscape for listing CMs in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods ( ARTG) and its implications relating to product efficacy, which may affect their decision to supply WLCM products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]