Indcoserve, Coonoor, the apex body of the Industrial Cooperative (Indco) Tea Factories, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the CSIR-IHBT (Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology), Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, on June 30 to extract catechin from tea leaves, on a transfer of technology basis.
Catechin are phenols and polyphenols which are natural plant compounds found in tea, and are believed to provide potential health benefits.
The extraction of catechin will be done at Kaikatty Industrial Tea Factory Limited, Melur, and later at Mahalinga Industrial Cooperative Tea Factory.
“Tea catechin are high value antioxidants responsible for numerous health benefits. For extracting 1 kg of catechin, about 50 kg of fresh tea leaves are required. It could fetch up to ₹ 15,000 in the international market,” said a press release from the Indocoserve here.
Apart from the manufacture of orthodox and green teas, this was the first time Indcoserve was initiating the production of value-added products from green tea leaves, which would help the tea industry to compete in the world market, the release added.