EXTRACTION OF THEAFLAVINS

摘要

The present invention provides a process for extraction of theaflavins from tea including the step of contacting tea with an aqueous solution of urea, wherein R and R' are independently selected from H and G, and wherein G is derived from gallic acid and has formula (2): In particular, the four theaflavins have formula (1 ) where: for TF1 R=R'=H; for TF2 R= G, R'= H; for TF3 R=H1 R'=G; and for TF4 R=R'=G.