Effects of the Residue Types, Harvest Seasons, and Factories on the Bioactive Compounds of Black Tea (Camellia sinensis) Residue.

Annually, lots of useless black tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze] residue is produced in Iranian factories; nonetheless, their bioactive compounds can be extracted and used in the pharmaceutical and food industries. The investigation, which looked at the extraction of all compounds from tea residue, was conducted from 2006 to 2008 to solve environmental problems related to the disposal of tea residues. Extracting one compound to build a lateral products factory is unprofitable, but extracting all bioactive compounds can increase productivity. Four bioactive substances (caffeine, polyphenol, protein, and fiber) were extraction from four tea residues types (dust, fluff, footstalk, and stalk) that nine tea companies generated in the spring, summer, and autumn, assessed in this study. Caffeine was measured by spectrophotometer, followed by cellulose and polyphenol by weight technique, and protein by micro-Kjeldal. Statistical analysis was done on a split plot in randomized complete blocks with three replications (sampling places were randomly selected, and treatments were fixed). The triple effect of residue types, harvest seasons, and factories were significant at a 0.01 level on the levels of caffeine, protein, and fiber, according to the variance analysis findings. The highest amount of caffeine in the dustx summer x Moein factory, followed by protein in the dust x spring x Poltan factory, and fiber in the stalk x autumn x Tohied and Setareh Shomal factories, was observed. Finally, the result demonstrated that consideration must be given to the types of residue, harvest seasons, and factories when using tea factory residues for industrial purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]