The behaviour of green tea catechins in a full-fat milk system under conditions mimicking the cheesemaking process

Due to their well-known health benefits, green tea catechins have received recent attention as natural additives in foods such as dairy products. However, they may present some irreversible associations with milk components (e.g. protein and milk fat globules). To investigate the behaviour of two important green tea catechins, (+)-catechin (C) and (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), in a standard whole milk system under the conditions of cheesemaking, 250 and 500 ppm of each catechin were added to whole milk (3.3% fat). Although both C and EGCG at either concentration increased both total phenolic content and total antioxidant capacity of the subnatants obtained from the milk system, there was a less linear increase when the concentration of the catechins was doubled, whereas C or EGCG were recovered (measured by HPLC) differently. Overall, these results suggest a degree of associations between green tea catechins with milk proteins and milk fat.