ESTIMATION OF CAFFEINE IN PACKAGED TEA OF LOCAL MARKET OF DHARAN, NEPAL

Abstract

Caffeine is a drug found in tea that stimulates the central nervous system of human. The aim of this research was to estimate the amount of caffeine present in various tea samples available in local market of Dharan, Nepal. Caffeine content in tea was estimated using UV-Vis spectrophotometer. Along with caffeine physical parameters (pH, Moisture, and Ash content) were also estimated and their correlation with caffeine was statistically analyzed using SPSS at 5% level of significance. The highest amount of caffeine was found in Sencha tea (8.48%) and the lowest amount of caffeine was found in Haldibari tea (5.11%). Moisture content and ash content has shown positive correlation with caffeine at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). The obtained caffeine concentration of all tea samples followed mandatory standard of DFTQC, Nepal. According to this research, the recommended daily intake of tea consumption based on caffeine ranges from one and half cup to three cups per day. Intake of tea more than the recommended range may cause various health problems including caffeine intoxication