Comparison of Biological Activities and Bioactive Components of Seed, Leaf, and Blossom Parts of Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze and Commercial Black Tea

In this study, bioactive properties and GC-MS analyses of the Camellia sinensis (seed, leaf, and blossom parts) and commercial black tea extracts were compared. The total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of extracts were determined. The gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) technique was used to identify the major bioactive compounds in extracts. The TPC and antioxidant activity values of the alcohol extract prepared from the leaf part of the C. sinensis are higher than the other extracts. There was a strong correlation between total phenolic content and antioxidant amount among the ethanol extracts of C. sinensis. In antimicrobial evaluation, the ethanol extracts showed more activity; the ethanolic extract of C. sinensis seeds was the most effective. GC-MS results indicated various organic compounds in the C. sinensis extracts, mainly saturated and unsaturated aromatic esters, aromatic alcohols, some cyclic structures, aromatic amine, and boranic esters with different therapeutic activities. The black tea extracts exhibited a more straightforward variety of bio components as aromatic esters and boranic ester. According to the obtained results, C. sinensis and black tea extracts would exert several beneficial effects by their biological activities thanks to the possible synergistic effect of chemical contents detected by GC-MS analysis. However, GC-MS results indicated that the black tea sample had much fewer bioconstituents than fresh C. sinensis plant samples.