Kirin's research indicated that the black tea polyphenols in Afternoon Tea Oishii Mutou may help inhibit oil adhesion, reporting new findings that explain the product's characteristic of leaving less oil in the mouth.
Kirin Central Research Institute developed a proprietary microfluidic device in research on Afternoon Tea Oishii Mutou to reproduce the behaviour of oil and beverages when they come into contact in the mouth. The device can visualise and quantify emulsification, in which oil forms fine droplets, allowing the behaviour to be observed in an environment similar to the oral cavity.
The key findings were that removing black tea polyphenols reduced the oil-adhesion-inhibiting effect, while adding the same amount of black tea polyphenols to water resulted in no detectable oil adhesion. By contrast, the same effect was not confirmed with other tea polyphenols.
In a comparison using the developed device, through which water, green tea polyphenols, black tea polyphenols and oil were flowed, black tea polyphenols were found to stabilise smaller oil droplets and reduce the amount of oil adhering. The findings indicated that black tea polyphenols may contribute to inhibiting oil adhesion.
The company will continue researching tea polyphenol components and aims to create value by enabling people to enjoy black tea and meals more fully.