Bush tea (Athrixia phylicoides DC.) is a herbal beverage and medicinal plant indigenous to South Africa. A trial was conducted to determine the effect of micronutrients on the plant growth and quality of bush tea. The trial was laid out in a completely randomized block design with five replicates. Treatments consisted of single applications of Zinc (Zn), Copper (Cu), Boron (Bo), Iron (Fe) and Magnesium (Mg) at three levels (50ml/l, 100ml/l and 150ml/l) and a combination of all micronutrients. A control treatment with no spray was also included. Leaf analysis was conducted using Varian Liberty series II instrument. Total polyphenols were determined using the Folin Ciocalteau method and tannins were determined using Vanillin HCl method. Bush tea samples (one leaf per sample) were analysed using head space solid phase micro-extraction gas chromatography (HS-SPME-GC-MS). Results of this study demonstrated that application of micronutrients increased the total polyphenols, tannins and total flavonoids in bush tea, with most of the increase in total polyphenols (77.5-93.7 mg/g) occurring in combination B + Zn + Fe + Cu + Mg treatment, increase in tannins (87.3-99.5 mg/g) occurring in copper treatment and increase in total flavonoids (164.6-176.6 mg/g) occurring in mixture (B + Zn + Fe + Cu + Mg) treatment. Results also show a significant increase in the quality and plant growth of bush tea. Five major compounds were identified (>80% identification probability) namely alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, myrcene, beta-caryophyllene and caryophyllene oxide. Linear relationship between percentage leaf tissues and treatments levels of micronutrients in bush tea was also observed. Boron and copper treatments showed strong linear correlation with a positive relationship between treatments levels and leaf percentage. Therefore, for improved total polyphenols content in bush tea leaves, a combination of (B + Zn + Fe + Cu + Mg) is recommended. Tannin content in bush tea leaves were significantly increased at Cu50 ml/l, Cu100 ml/l and Cu150 ml/l. For improved total flavonoids content in bush tea leaves, a combination of foliar spray of (B + Zn + Fe + Cu + Mg) is recommended. The LC-MS observations from the study showed no significant qualitative difference between control and micronutrient treatments with these treatments showing similar number of peaks. There was a significant quantitative difference between control and where magnesium peaks applied at adequate rates at (50 ml/l and 100 ml/l) and combination of (B + Zn + Fe + Cu + Mg) applied at (10 ml/l and 20 ml/l) / Agriculture, Animal Health and Human Ecology / M. Sc. (Agriculture)

Thesis (M.Sc.) --University of Limpopo, Turfloop Campus, 2010 / A study was conducted to determine the effect of fermentation temperature and duration on chemical composition of bush tea (Athrixia phylicoides DC.). Bush tea was fermented in incubators at different temperatures and for different lengths of time for quality improvement. Treatments for fermentation temperature consisted of control (24°C; room temperature), 30°C, 34°C, 38°C and 42°C where the tea leaves were fermented for 30 minutes. Treatments for fermentation time consisted of control (0), 60, 90, and 120 minutes at an incubator temperature of 22-26°C. A completely randomized design (CRD) was used with three replicates for both evaluations. The chemical analysis (polyphenols, tannins and antioxidants) were done using Waterman and Mole (1994) method. The results of this study demonstrated that fermentation temperature significantly increases polyphenols at 30, 34, and 38°C whereas tannin content showed a great reduction at 38 and 42°C. Increasing fermentation time achieved a significant increase in both polyphenols (60 and 90 minutes) and tannin contents (90 and 120 minutes). However, changes in either fermentation temperature or time did not give any significant influence on antioxidant content of bush tea. / National Research Foundation

Thesis (M.Sc)--University of Limpopo, 2010. / Black tea (Camellia sinensis) and black tea combined with bush tea (Athrixia phylicoides) were analyzed for their polyphenol content, antioxidant activity and tannin content. Solvent extraction methods were used for extracting polyphenols, antioxidant activity and tannin content. Total phenols were determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu method, antioxidant activity using Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC) assay and tannin content using vanillin-HCl method. Polyphenol content, antioxidant activity and tannin content were calculated using regression equation Y=MX+C, where C=intercept, Y= Absorbance of the sample and M= Gradient. Results of black tea in this study showed that total polyphenols, antioxidant activity and tannin content decreased with decrease in temperature and time and this was attributed to the release of polysaccharides at 90°C. At 90°C for 3 minutes 7.68mg/100g of total polyphenol, 3.85μmol/g of antioxidants and 2.81mg/100g of tannin were obtained and this amount decreased to 5.50mg/100mg for total polyphenols, 1.31μmol/g for antioxidant activity and 0.72mg/100mg for tannin content at 30°C for 10 minutes. Combining the two tea types (50:50) resulted in a significant (p<0.005) decrease in total polyphenols, antioxidant and tannin content. Results of this study showed that at high temperature of 90°C for 3 minutes 2.64mg/100g for total polyphenol, 2.48μmol/g for antioxidants and 1.8mg/100g for tannin were obtained and these amounts decreased to 1.39mg/100mg for total polyphenols, 0.35μmol/g for antioxidant activity and 0.64mg/100mg for tannin content at 30°C for 10 minutes. Thus high brewing temperature causes increase in total polyphenols, antioxidant activity and tannin content of the combined teas. This study showed that black tea and combined black tea and bush tea solutions had large TEAC radical scavenging activity which can be related to total polyphenols and catechins. The antioxidant activity of the tea solution increased with increase in extraction temperature and duration of soaking. It is recommended that 3-min soaking temperature of 90 °C of black tea and combined bush tea and black tea can be used due to the highest total polyphenols and antioxidant activity obtained.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Horticulture)) --University of Limpopo, 2012 / Refer to document / the National Research Foundation