THE EFFECT OF SUNN HEMP FLOWER TEA CONTENTS ON TOTAL ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY AND CHARACTERISTICS OF FERMENTED TEA

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to study the effect of Sunn hemp flower tea contents on total antioxidant capacity and characteristics during Sunn hemp flower tea fermentation process, as well as sensory testing of Sunn hemp flower tea fermented products. The experiment was conducted by varying the amount of Sunn hemp flower tea at 10, 30 and 50 g/l. The results showed that the optimal amount of Sunn hemp flower tea for Sunn hemp flower tea fermentation was 10 g/l, which the antioxidant capacity was significantly increased (P<0.05) during the 7 days of fermentation and had the highest inhibition capacity of 0.49 mg TE/ml at 21 days of fermentation. While the total titratable acidity (% acetic acid) was increased and pH decreased during the fermentation process, total soluble solids tended to decrease and the number of bacteria and yeast were increased at the 7 days. In addition, the results on color values of Sunn hemp flower tea fermented revealed L* (lightness value) were decreased and b* (yellow value) were increased in the initial tea as rise in the amount of tea. But no significant changes in color values were observed during the fermentation process. The sensory testing of Sunn hemp flower tea fermented by untrained subjects found the highest overall acceptability score of 7.13 in Sunn hemp flower tea content of 10 g/l. Therefore, these experiment data on Sunn hemp flower tea fermented content of 10 g/l could be used for developing fermented tea beverages in the future.