- Tea Pouches - Loose Tea - Iced Tea - Why Mighty Leaf? EGCG,
Catechins, Antioxidants and Green Tea Catechins are a type of
tannin commonly found in green tea - these chemicals provide
both the active antioxidant property of green teas and also the
slight astringent taste green teas are noted for. Black tea also
contains catechins, but in smaller amounts because the
fermentation process used to make black tea chemically reduces
catechins, making them lose their antioxidant properties. The
class of chemicals called catechins are powerful, water soluble
polyphenols and antioxidants that in can be easily chemically
oxidized - making them special as antioxidants in the body.
Several thousand types of catechins occur naturally in the
plants. As many as two thousand are known to have a flavon
chemical structure and are thus called flavonoids. Catechins are
a subclass of flavonoids known for their strong anitoxidant
properties. The most important catechin found in green tea is
Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG i