L-Theanine application in food and drinks

L-Theanine, is a healthy compound that.sleep inducive, can relieve fatigue, lower blood pressure and improve learning and memory ability is rare and eye-catching. This article will introduce theanine application in food industry.

For this reason, L-theanine was rewarded at the International Food Raw Materials Conference held in Germany in 1998. Theanine is the amino acid with the highest content in tea, accounting for more than 50 percent of the total free amino acids and 1 percent -2 percent of the dry weight of tea leaves. Pure Theanine is a white needle and dissolve fast in water. The sweet and refreshing taste is a component of the taste of tea.

1）Tea beverage improver

At present, due to the limitation of raw materials and processing technology, the fresh and refreshing taste of tea beverages in my country is far from satisfying. Theanine is the main component of the fresh and refreshing taste of tea, and can alleviate the bitter taste of caffeine and tea polyphenols. Therefore, proper addiction in tea beverages can significantly improve the quality and flavor of tea beverages. The Rich Green Tea beverage developed by Japan Kirin is featured with theanine, and its success in the Japanese beverage market is a very typical example.

2）Functional Food Additives

Theanine has the functions of enhancing the intensity of alpha waves in the brain, making people feel relaxed and improving memory, and has been confirmed in human experiments.

Therefore, it can be added to food as a functional ingredient to develop nervous tension-relieving and intellectual functional food.

An formulation of 5 percent black tea concentrated extract (Bx=20) , 5 percent filling (Bx=7.5) , sugar 15 percent , 1 percent gelling agent , and 0.2 percent theanine , 0.2 percent citric acid , 0.2 percent sodium citrate and water to 100 percent to make black tea jelly.measure Brain waves every 5 minutes 60 minutes after intake, and it was found that the amount of alpha waves increased immediately after eating, and increased significantly after 30 minutes, up to 1.6 times. Studies have also confirmed that theanine added to candy, various beverages, etc. Showsvery good sedative performance.

3）L -Theanine as Flavor Improver

Theanine can not only be used as a flavor modifier of green tea, but also can inhibit bitterness and astringency in other foods, so as to improve the flavor of food. Cocoa drinks and barley tea are of a unique bitterness or astringent taste. Adding sweeteners will produce an unpleasant taste. While 0.01 percent theanine instead of sweeteners can result greatly improved flavor .The study also confirmed that addiction into other drinks like coffee, cocoa, ginseng drinks, beer can also f improving the taste. Theanine is a prospected ingredients in food industry.