Seasonal Variation of Tannin Content in Wild Bush Tea

The objective of the study was to determine seasonal variation in the concentration of tannins in wild bush tea (Athrixia phylicoides L.) leaves. The BuOH-HCl_Fe reagent was used to analyze condensed tannins, whereas hydrolysable tannin was analyzed using potassium iodate. The absorbance was measured using a spectrophotometer. Significant seasonal variations in both condensed and hydrolysable tannins in leaf tissue occurred. The highest concentrations of condensed tannins were found in autumn (4.82%) compared with winter (2.44%), spring (2.66%) and summer (3.04%). The hydrolysable tannins were lowest during summer (0.10%) compared with autumn and winter (0.14%) and spring (0.13%). The data obtained from this study suggests that winter and autumn are the best times to harvest bush tea to maximize tannin contents of bush tea leaves. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________