Antioxidant capacity in black tea with the addition of Almond, Lactose-Free, Organic Whole and Whole Milk.

Abstract

Black tea is known to be a suitable dietary drink for its rich polyphenolic compounds that are high in antioxidant properties resulting in many health effects. Studies have shown that consumption of foods and drinks containing polyphenols have reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases. While a majority of the population enjoy their black tea with no additions, some of us enjoy the consumption of black tea with a small addition of milk. It is suggested that casein proteins present in milk bind with the polyphenols found in tea; this reaction lowers the antioxidant capacity present in black tea. The objective of this study was to test the same hypothesis that Lisa Ryan and Sèbastien Petit (Ryan, 2010) tackled that the addition of milk may affect the antioxidant capacity in tea and in effect lower the health benefits from the polyphenolic compounds. The present study will contain one initial trail using Whole milk to replicate Lisa Ryan and Sébastein Petit's experiment and proceed testing the antioxidant capacity of black tea after the addition of Almond, Lactose-Free and Organic whole milk.