沱茶は中国雲南省のアッサム茶の葉を蒸して作られる緊圧茶で,抗老化,コレステロール低下,免疫増強,血圧降下等の作用があると言われている。我々は,DPPHラジカル捕捉活性を指標として成分検索を行ない,得られた成分についてDPPHラジカル捕捉活性と共にD-GalN/TNF-α誘発マウス肝細胞死阻害活性を測定した。その結果,沱茶がフェノール類,リグナン,フラボノイド,フラバン3オール類などの抗酸化成分を多く含む事を明らかにし,それら成分の構造と活性との関係について考察した。 Tuocha is one of the special varieties of fermented compressed tea leaves, praised for its important health benefits, such as anti-aging, lowering cholesterol, enhancing immune function, lowering of blood pressure, reducing heart attacks etc. In the present study, we carried out fractionation and isolation of the active constituents, guided by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity. In addition, antioxidative and antihepatotoxic potency on D-galactosamine (D-GalN)/tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)-induced cell death in primary cultured mouse hepatocytes was also examined. Our study revealed that, tuocha is rich in antioxidants such as phenolics, lignans, flavanoides and flavan-3-ols, and showed a good understanding between structure and activity relationship
