Theanine is an amino acid unique to tea with the chemical formula C₇H₁₄N₂O₃, which accounts for 1%-2% by weight in dry tea.

Theanine, also known as L-γ-glutamine and N-propyl-glutamine, is an amino acid analog of the proteinogenic amino acids L-glutamic acid and L-glutamine, mainly Found in specific plant and fungal species. In 1949, it was discovered as an ingredient in green tea; in 1950, it was isolated from jade leaves. Theanine provides a unique delicious or savory flavor to green tea infusions.

L-theanine, an amino acid found in green tea leaves, has been shown to promote relaxation while maintaining a state of alertness. It combines alert relaxation and calming concentration, an ingredient favored by those looking to optimize cognitive function and reduce stress.

The main difference between theanine and L-theanine is that theanine is a non-protein-forming, water-soluble acidic amino acid whereas L-theanine is the form of theanine found in green tea and certain mushrooms , is safe for human consumption. In addition, L-theanine can be used to treat high blood pressure and anxiety.

Theanine and L-theanine are two compounds in the glutamine class that are thought to increase levels of GABA, serotonin, and dopamine, which are molecules that calm the brain.

• Item: Value

• Product Name: L-theanine

• Type: Tea Extract

• Chemical formula: C7H14N2O3

• Molecular weight: 174.1977

• CAS number: 3081-61-6

• EINECS number: 221-379-0

• Extraction Type: Solvent Extraction

• Packaging: bottle, Drum, Glass Container, Plastic Container

• Place of Origin: Shaanxi, China

• Grade: Food grade

• Brand Name: HERBASEA

1. Hypotensive effect

   The regulation of blood pressure is mainly achieved through the increase or decrease of catecholamines and serotonin in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Yokogoshi et al. have proved through experiments that the content of serotonin can be reduced after administration of murine theanine, which reduces the synthesis of serotonin in the brain and increases its decomposition in the brain. When different doses of theanine were injected into spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), blood pressure decreased, and the degree of decrease showed a dose-response relationship. A significant decrease in blood pressure was observed in the high-dose group; but even the highest dose of theanine did not It can change the blood pressure of normal rats; but glutamate, which is similar in structure to theanine, has not been found to have a blood pressure-lowering effect.

2. Adjuvant tumor suppressor effect

   When the anticancer drug doxorubicin is used in combination with theanine, it can inhibit the metastasis of M5076 ovarian sarcoma to the liver. Recently, Sa-dzuka et al. further studied the way that theanine enhances the anticancer activity of doxorubicin, pointing out that theanine increases the concentration of doxorubicin in tumor cells by inhibiting the transmission of glutamate in tumor cells, thus increasing its anticancer activity. Cancer efficacy. Theanine is very beneficial to the clinical chemotherapy of cancer patients, it not only promotes the effect of some antitumor drugs, but also improves the quality of life of cancer patients.

3. Relaxation of nervous tension, relaxation, etc.

   Generally speaking, animals and people always generate very weak pulses on the surface of the brain, called brain waves. Under different mental conditions, the brain will produce brain waves of different current frequencies. Brain waves are divided into α, β, δ and theta waves according to the frequency. Appear. Some people conducted human experiments to verify the effect of theanine on the spirit. The experimenters were asked to drink water and theanine aqueous solution, and the EEG was measured after 60 minutes; the results showed that the EEG changed after drinking the water, while drinking theanine After the generation of significant alpha waves. Therefore, theanine has the effect of promoting the production of alpha waves, thereby causing a feeling of comfort and pleasure. And theanine did not cause an increase in the number of theta waves in sleep, so theanine can stabilize people's mood and make people more focused.

4. Protective effect on brain nerve cells

   Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter, and its content in nerve cells is maintained at 1mmol-10mmol/L. When cerebral ischemia occurs, the supply of O2 is interrupted in the cells, which reduces the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the cells and gradually depletes the nerve cell membranes. The concentration of calcium ions in the body continues to increase, which stimulates the activities of various decomposition enzymes, and finally acts on the cells to destroy and die. Theanine has a competitive protective effect on glutamate receptors, so theanine has a protective effect on brain tissue and can avoid the death of cerebral nerve cells caused by cerebral ischemia.

5. Improve menstrual syndrome

   Menstrual syndrome (PMS) is the mental and physical discomfort that women experience 3 to 10 days before menstruation. Juneja et al. investigated the improvement effect of theanine on PMS, and asked 24 women to take 200 mg of theanine daily. After two months, the symptoms of PMS were significantly improved, such as headache, low back pain, chest pain, weakness, easy fatigue, and inability to concentrate. , irritability and other symptoms improved. The mechanism still needs further study, which may be related to the sedative effect of theanine.

6. Slimming effect

   After 16 weeks of feeding mice mixed with 0.028% theanine, their body weight was significantly lower than that of the control group, and the abdominal fat was reduced to 58% of the control group. At the same time, blood neutral fat and cholesterol levels were reduced by 32% and 15%, respectively, and cholesterol in the liver was reduced by 28%. Therefore, the weight loss effect of tea is the result of the joint action of various components in tea, including theanine, which is especially effective in reducing cholesterol in the body.

7. Anti-fatigue effect

   After 30 days of oral administration of theanine, the mice were subjected to a weight-bearing swimming experiment to observe and record the swimming death time of the mice; blood was collected to detect serum urea nitrogen and blood lactate after swimming for a certain period of time; liver glycogen was detected. Results After 30 days of oral administration of different doses of theanine to mice, it could significantly prolong the weight-bearing swimming time of mice, reduce the consumption of liver glycogen, and reduce the level of serum urea nitrogen during exercise; it can significantly inhibit the increase of blood lactate in mice after exercise. It can promote the elimination of blood lactic acid after exercise. Therefore, theanine has an anti-fatigue effect. The mechanism may be related to that theanine can inhibit the secretion of s-serotonin and promote the secretion of catecholamine (5-hydroxytryptamine has an inhibitory effect on the central nervous system, while catecholamine has an excitatory effect).

Theanine, a health food that does not have hypnosis, can relieve fatigue, lower blood pressure and improve learning and memory ability is rare and eye-catching. For this reason, theanine won the research department award 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% of the total free amino acids and 1%-2% of the dry weight of tea leaves. Theanine is a white needle-like body, easily soluble in water, has a sweet and refreshing taste, and is a component of the taste of tea.

1. Tea beverage quality 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 poor. 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, in the production process of tea beverages Adding a certain amount of theanine can significantly improve the quality and flavor of tea beverages.

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 by human experiments. Therefore, it can be added to food as a functional ingredient to develop nervous tension-relieving and intellectual functional food. Such as black tea concentrated extract (Bx=20) 5%, filling (Bx=7.5) 5%, granulated sugar 15%, gelling agent 1%, theanine 0.2%, citric acid 0.2%, sodium citrate 0.2%, Add water to 100% to make black tea jelly. Brain waves were measured 60 minutes after eating, every 5 minutes, 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 can be added to candy, various beverages, etc. to obtain a very good sedative effect.

3. Theanine flavor improvement effect

   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 beverages and barley tea have a unique bitter or astringent taste. Adding sweeteners will have an unpleasant taste. If 0.01% theanine is used to replace the sweetener, the results show that the flavor of the beverages is greatly improved after adding theanine. The study also confirmed that adding to other foods (coffee, cocoa, ginseng drinks, beer) also has a good effect of improving flavor, indicating that theanine has broad application prospects in the food industry.