FORM - 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
The Patents Rules, 2006
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
(See Section 10 and Rule 13)
A TEA COMPOSITION
HINDUSTAN LEVER LIMITED, a company incorporated under the Indian Companies Act, 1913 and having its registered office at Hindustan Lever House, 165/166, Backbay Reclamation, Mumbai -400 020, Maharashtra, India
The following specification describes the invention

FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to a tea composition that provides enhanced health benefits. The invention particularly relates to a tea composition containing herbal actives that provides both enhanced health benefits and the desired organoleptic properties of tea as a beverage.
BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART
Many different tea products are prepared from the tea plant. Two of the more popular products are black tea and green tea. Generally, to prepare black leaf tea, fresh green leaves of the plant Camellia sinensis are withered (a process to allow the plucked tea leaves to lose moisture and bring about chemical / biochemical changes especially in aroma), macerated, fermented (in which process enzymes in the tea leaf use atmospheric oxygen to oxidise various substrates to produce coloured products) and then dried at higher temperatures (to stop the enzyme activities). Green tea is produced by not exposing the tea leaves to the fermentation process. Partial fermentation is used to produce intermediate-type teas known as "oolong" tea.
Tea is consumed as a hot beverage or as a cold beverage (for example iced tea). The numerous compounds in the leaves that give the beverage its unique organoleptic properties are only sparingly soluble in cold water. Therefore tea is usually infused in hot water or boiling water. To get cold tea, this infusion is chilled before consumption. Cold water soluble teas are usually prepared by spray drying the liquor obtained by extraction of black tea or tea fibers generated during black tea manufacturing process.
Medicinal properties of various plants and herbs are well known and reported. The science of herbal medicine is one of the ancient sciences, which finds place in modern medical research. Although herbal medicines are often effective, many herbs and their extracts are disliked by people as they have characteristic odors and tastes, often unpalatable. Many of them have a very bitter taste. Therefore, many attempts have
been made in the past to provide the health benefits of such herbs and their active components through various media like tablets or syrups having high levels of
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sweeteners. People often consider such media of intake as "medicinal" and there is resistance among consumers for their sustained intake inspite of the proven health benefits.
Bacopa Monnieri is one such herb which has been known to have benefits in mental health, memory and learning. However, Bacopa Monnieri and its extracts are extremely bitter and for this reason it has been difficult to increase the consumer acceptability of this herb. It would be especially useful for children to consume this herb as the learning capability is known to be highest at a young age. This learning capability could be enhanced with such supplements. However, since children generally prefer a sweet taste, it has been seen that they are averse to consuming bitter products like those containing herbs like Bacopa Monnieri
Tea is a popular, low-cost beverage that is consumed throughout the world. Its consumption in the Indian subcontinent is particularly high. Hence one would think that a good choice to provide health benefits of herbs to people is through the medium of tea. However this has not been very successful since tea has certain organoleptic properties like a unique taste, aroma, color, flavour and mouthfeel which the consumers identify with and are not ready to compromise. Hence one of the major challenges in incorporating health benefit agents in tea is to ensure that sufficient amounts are incorporated to get the desired efficacy while ensuring that the organoleptic properties of tea are not compromised. Further one has to be very careful that the incorporated herbs and the active components therein do not interact antagonistically with the hundreds of compounds, especially polyphenols, present in tea thereby possibly negating the desired health benefits. The health benefits desired are influenced by many physiological factors of the individuals consuming them and the benefits are therefore very difficult to measure and quantify. Hence, although, one would assume that tea is a straightforward medium for incorporation of herbal health benefit agents, there are a large number of interacting factors that need to be carefully studied before arriving at a composition which not only provides the desired health benefits but are also accepted by a wide range of people.
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An internet search indicates a few instances of reference to Bacopa tea. However a
closer look at these compositions reveals that most of these are essentially a decoction
of the herb Bacopa in water along with a few other herbs with no tea at all in them. For
example the internet site http://www.amazon.com/Yoqi-Healinq-Formula-Fastinq-16-
Count/dp/B0009F3SB4 sells a composition with Bacopa and cardamom with no tea at all in
the composition. The site http://www.vitaminexpiorer.com/cataioci/pn3duct
info.php?manufacturers id=&products id=5160&osCsid=01daab5f7c36d99c2cc695f5fd27e420 sells a composition comprising tea with high levels of Bacopa. Such teas are quite bitter and are usually purchased only by the connoisseur and does not cater to the needs of the mass market consumer. It is thus a problem in the prior art to provide for a mass market composition like tea that on the one hand provides benefits like enhanced mental health, learning and memory while on the other hand provides all the conventional taste, aroma, and flavour generally expected from tea.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide for a tea composition, that gives enhanced mental health, learning and memory without affecting the organoleptic properties of tea.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the benefits of enhanced mental health, learning and memory from a tea composition which is especially liked by children.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a tea composition comprising:
(a) tea; and
(b)at least 0.1 and utmost 4.0 weight % Bacopa monnieri, its extracts or derivatives thereof.
It is particularly preferred that the composition comprises 0.01 to 1.0% by weight vanillin, its precursors or derivatives thereof.
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It is further particularly preferred that the composition comprises a food grade binder.
The invention, its advantages and other aspects will now be explained in greater detail, in the following detailed description.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present invention relates to providing benefits of enhanced mental health, learning and memory through tea without compromising on its organoleptic properties. The tea composition of the invention comprises tea and a selective amount of Bacopa monnieri of at least 0.1 % and utmost 4.0% by weight of the tea composition.
"Tea" for the purposes of the present invention means leaf material from Camellia sinensis var. sinensis or Camellia sinensis var. assamica and teas processed therewith. It can be black tea, green tea or oolong tea. Else it could be instant tea or ready-to-drink tea. Tea, as per the invention, also includes blend of two or more of any of these teas.
The tea that is produced by complete fermentation process and that appears black/brown in color is referred to as black tea. The majority of tea produced is of this kind. Black tea manufacturing technology essentially involves disruption of the cellular integrity of tea shoots, thereby enabling the mixing of substrates (polyphenols) and the enzymes (polyphenol oxidases). This results in the initiation of a series of biochemical and chemical reactions with the uptake of atmospheric oxygen and formation of oxidized polyphenols compounds that are characteristic of tea along with volatile flavour compounds that impart characteristic aroma to tea.
Green tea is produced by by-passing the fermentation step. The oxidizing enzymes are killed/denatured by steam blasting the freshly plucked leaf in perforated trays or by roasting it in hot iron pan. The steaming is carried out for less than a minute. The leaf is then subjected to further heating and rolling until it turns dark green. The leaves are
finally dried to moisture content of 3 to 4 percent. As the fermentation is arrested by the
inactivation of polyphenol oxidase, the polyphenols are not oxidized and the leaves
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remain green. The beverage gives a weaker flavor than black tea due to the absence of theaflavins and thearubigins.
Semi fermented (Oolong) tea is also available. When the fermentation is carried out partially, the resultant teas are referred to as Oolong tea. Oolong tea is mainly consumed for its medical significance.
By instant tea is meant that tea powder which is soluble in cold water. The consumer can purchase such instant teas and dissolve in any desired amount of water at any desired temperature to prepare the tea drink. By ready-to-drink tea is meant a tea drink which has been pre-prepared and then packed as a beverage in a container. The consumer just needs to open the pack and drink the beverage at any desired temperature. As per the present invention, in the case of ready-to-drink teas, the weight ratio of tea to Bacopa monnieri is to be taken as set out in the statement of the invention without accounting for the water therein.
The tea composition of the invention comprises at least 80% tea.
An essential attribute of tea is its organoleptic properties. Tea quality is usually evaluated on the bases of its colour, aroma and taste. An attractive aroma is essential for premium quality tea. The chemical nature of tea aroma, the mechanisms of aroma formation during tea leaf processing, and the objective estimation of finished tea aroma are all subjects which have long been the focus of interest of many researchers. The aroma of different teas is influenced by a number of factors which include the particular variety, the degree of growth prior to harvesting, and the particular agronomic variables under which the tea has been grown; together with the particular method of processing employed. Consumer acceptability of tea is largely dependent upon the flavor of the product. The volatile components comprise the aroma, whereas the non-volatile components are responsible for taste. In order to have the mass market appeal of any new tea composition, it is essential for tea manufacturers to preserve the color, taste, body and aroma of tea, so that traditional tea drinkers do not reject the tea on the basis of these factors, although they now have an added incentive in that the new tea composition has enhanced health benefits.
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The present inventors have studied all these factors very carefully before arriving at the selective range of Bacopa monnieri in the range of not less than 0.1 % and not more than 4.0 % by weight of the tea composition. By ensuring that Bacopa is within this selective range, the consumers get the desired health benefits while continuing to drink a tea beverage which has the organoleptic properties they have always had when drinking tea.
Bacopa monnieri is also known as Bacopa monniera, water hyssop, or Herestis monniera. In India, this herb is known as Brahmi. The term Bacopa monnieri, Bacopa and Brahmi are used interchangeably throughout this specification and is meant to denote the same ingredient. Bacopa grows in damp, marshy areas and is under cultivation as a medicinal crop. The herb and extracts for ingestion purposes are known to be very bitter and pungent. Brahmi has been used in a wide variety of medicinal preparation in "Ayurveda" the traditional Indian system of medicine. In this system of medicine, Brahmi has been used as a brain tonic to enhance memory development, learning and concentration. Active compounds in Brahmi include alkaloids like Brahmine and herpestine; saponins like d-mannitol and hersaponin, acid A and monnierin; and sterols. Other active constituents include betulic acid, stigmastarol, beta-sitosterol and numerous bacosides and bacopasaponins. Preferred amounts of Bacopa monnieri, extracts or derivatives thereof in the tea composition of the invention is at least 0.5% and utmost 2.0% by weight of the composition. An especially preferred form of Bacopa monnieri is an aqueous extract of the herb. The extract could be made from any part of the Bacopa plant, preferably the aerial part of the Bacopa plant like leaves, shoots, bark, flower, fruits or stem but it is especially preferred that the leaf or stem part is used. A preferred form of Bacopa to be added to the tea composition of the invention is the powder form.
The inventors have also very carefully studied the chemical composition of the Bacopa monnieri to determine what constituent and in what amounts must be present in order to ensure that the consumer gets the desired good tea taste, flavour, aroma and mouth feel and the health benefits of Bacopa which are contrasting demands for the formulator to achieve. The present inventors have determined that the Bacopa monnieri, its
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extracts or derivatives thereof preferably comprise at least 5% and utmost 20% bacosides. In order to get maximum health benefits, a formulator is generally tempted to incorporate Bacopa with higher and higher amounts of actives like bacosides. In fact, the most common Bacopa available from suppliers has a bacoside content of about 50%. The present inventors studied a large number of samples at varying bacoside contents before arriving at a selective range of % bacosides in the range of not less then 5% and not more than 20% in the Bacopa which gives the best properties in terms of both health benefits and organoleptic properties for the tea drinker from the tea of the present invention.
The tea composition of the invention preferably comprises 0.01 to 1.0% by weight Vanillin, its precursors or derivatives thereof. It is well known that Bacopa is a very bitter material and inclusion of it in any food or drink would alter the taste for the consumer. Hence the obvious choice of making the composition palatable would be to include a sweetening agent. Various sweetening agents come to mind like sugar, jaggery, honey etc. The present inventors tried a host of such agents most of which worked poorly as a masking agent. One agent, however, that surprisingly worked synergistically at low levels to mask the bitter taste of Bacopa without hindering the traditional taste of tea to a perceptible level was vanillin, its precursors or derivatives thereof. Vanillin is a product of plant origin. It has been extensively used as a flavourant in many food products especially ice creams. Synthetic versions of Vanillin are also available. Most suitable among them for use in the present invention is natural vanilla extract.
Vanillin is the principal flavour and aroma compound in vanilla. The main species used to obtain vanillin is Vanilla planifolia. The part of the plant which is used to extract the distinctive flavored compounds are the fruits. Though there are many compounds present in the extracts of vanilla, the compound predominantly responsible for the characteristic flavor and smell of vanilla is vanillin. Synthetic vanillin is available as methyl and ethyl vanillin which are most commonly used as flavouring.
Preferred amount of vanillin, its precursors or derivatives thereof is in the range of 0.1 to 0.6% by weight of the tea composition.
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The tea composition of the invention preferably comprises a food grade binder. Food grade binders suitable for use in the tea composition of the present invention are selected from polysaccharides, gums, polymers or a mixture thereof. Most suitable for use as a binder is a polysaccharide, preferably a mixture of polysaccharides. Most preferred polysaccharides are maltodextrins, modified starch and gum acacia.
Maltodextrin is a product obtained by controlled and partial hydrolysis of starch. It is a product midway between starch and glucose. The product thus obtained is refined by clarification, carbon treatment, ion exchange and then spray drying to a desired moisture level. Maltodextrin is a white powder which is very bland in taste with very little sweetness.
Modified starch is another useful binder which may be used in the tea composition of the invention. A more preferred modified starch is cross-linked starch where the amylase and amylopectin chains of starch get stuck together into a mesh. A most preferred modified starch for used as a binder in the present invention is HICAP 100® which is a modified starch sold by National Starch and Chemicals.
Gum acacia, also called gum Arabic, is a substance that is taken from two sub-Saharan species of the acacia tree, Acacia Senegal and Acacia seyal. It is used primarily in the food industry as a stabilizer, but has more varied uses. Gum acacia is a complex mixture of saccharides and glycoproteins, which makes it edible. It is an important ingredient in soft drink syrups, "hard" gummy candies like gumdrops, and in marshmallows. In the past, gum acacia has been used as a traditional carrier for spray dried flavor applications.
The above binders are uniquely selected to serve a host of purposes. They serve on the one hand to emulsify the liquid/oily additives and on the other hand serve to ensure binding of the solid additives like Bacopa powder to the tea powder in a uniform way. The binders also ensure some amount of encapsulation to the actives added to the tea composition to ensure physical and chemical stability during storage, transport and use.
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The total amount of binder is preferably in the range of 0.05 to 5.0 % by weight of the tea composition.
The tea composition of the invention may optionally comprise a flavouring agent. Many flavouring agents generally used in food products may be used but most preferred agents are cardamom (Elettaria candamomum), saffron (Crocus sativus), or almond (Prunus amygdalis). When used, cardamom is preferably added as a powder and/or oil. Suitable product form of saffron is in the saffron strand form and almond is in oil or flavour form. These optional flavouring agents are preferably present in amounts in the range of 0.1 to 3% by weight of the tea composition.
The tea composition of the invention preferably comprises not more than 8% moisture.
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a process to prepare a tea composition comprising tea; and at least 0.1% and utmost 4.0 weight % Bacopa monnieri, its extracts or derivatives thereof, the process comprising the step of blending tea with the Bacopa monnieri, its extracts or derivatives.
A preferred process of the second aspect of the present invention provides for a a process to prepare a tea composition comprising the steps of
(a) dispersing a binder and/or natural vanilla extract in water to form a dispersion;
(b) blending tea with Bacopa monnieri powder to form a dry blend;
(c) blending said dry blend with said dispersion to form a wet blend and (c) drying the wet blend to a moisture content less then 8% by weight.
It is preferred that the wet blend has a moisture content in the range of 8 to 15 weight %. Suitable temperatures for drying the wet blend to form the tea composition of the invention are in the range of 50 to 75 °C.
Health benefits afforded by this composition can be derived by consuming an infusion of said composition. Infusion of said tea composition can be consumed black (i.e. tea without milk) or by adding milk to the infusion. Alternatively, the composition can also be infused in a mixture of water and milk, or in milk alone. This composition is also
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suitable for being packed in tea bags, wherein the tea is infused in cups or kettles. The tea composition of the invention is especially suitable for consumption by children. At a young age the rate of learning is faster than at any other age. At this age, consumption of the tea beverage of the invention which has a pleasing taste and flavour and provides enhanced learning in these children is a very useful product which is as of now not an available product in the market and this product is bound to be highly sought after.
Source and origin of the ingredients used in developing the invention

Ingredient Form of ingredient Source and geographical origin of ingredient
Tea Brooke Bond Red Label Tea (black tea) Hindustan Lever Limited, India
Bacopa monnieri Powder of aqueous extract of of Bacopa monnieri which is sourced from cultivated areas. Sami Labs, Bangalore
Natural Vanilla flavour Powder or Liquid Imported into India and marketed by Firmenich, Mumbai.
Cardamom Powder of natural cardamom seeds Synthite Industrial Chemicals, Cochin, India
Cardamom oil Oil from seeds of natural cardamom Synthite Industrial Chemicals, Cochin, India
Almond Oil from almond seeds or Almond powder flavour Imported into India and marketed by Firmenich, Mumbai.
Saffron Natural ground saffron Local traders in India
HICAP18' Powdered starch National Starch
Gum Acacia Powder Kapadia Gum Chem Ind
Maltodextrin Powder Riddhi Siddhi Gluco Biols
Examples
The following examples are presented by way of illustrations and they do not limit the scope of the invention in any way.
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Examples 1 to 4 and Comparative Examples A and B
Several compositions as shown in Table-1 were prepared. The tea compositions were prepared by dry blending the various components till a uniform mixture was attained. The tea concoctions were prepared as per the method described below. The concoction was tasted by seven people who were asked to score the beverage on a score of 1 to 5 with the score of 1 being most acceptable and the score of 5 being most bitter. Table 1 also lists the average score for each of the compositions. An average score from 1 to 3.5 is generally considered acceptable, with a score of 1 to 2 being highly acceptable, while a score of more than 3.5 is considered not acceptable.
Process to make tea beverage:
Twenty grams of the tea composition was taken in a saucepan and 40 grams of sugar, 600 ml of water and 400 ml of pre-boiled milk were added to it. The contents of the saucepan were brought to a boil till one rise with occasional stirring after which the tea powder was strained from the concoction.
Table -1

Composition Comp.Example-A Example-1 Example-2 Example-3 Example-4 Comp.Example-B
Bacopa, wt% 0 1 2 3 4 5
Tea, wt% 100 To 100 To 100 To 100 To 100 To 100
Average score 1.0 1.5 2.0 3.0 3.5 4.5
The data in table-1 indicates that tea with Bacopa only in a selective range is acceptable to the consumer in terms of taste.
Efficacy of the tea composition of the invention:
A cell culture assay as summarized below was used to determine the efficacy of various tea compositions as per the invention vis-a-vis tea alone.
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Cell culture: Neuro 2A celts were cultured in MEM media in presence of 5% C02 at 37°C in a humidified incubator with 10ml/lt Antibiotic Antimycotic solution, 0.1tgm/lt sodium bicarbonate, 0.4gm/lt HEPES buffer, 8% of FCS. Cells with passage number 180-220 were used in all assays. The cells were subcultured every 3-4 days in 25 cm2 T flasks".
Herb / active preparation: Herbal extracts were dissolved in hot MilliQ water and prepared as stock. All further dilutions were prepared in the MEM with serum the regular culture media.
Assay procedure - Neuro2A the cells were grown in 25 cm2 T flasks" till they were 70-80% confluent. The cells were plated in 96 well plate at density of 2 - 4 X104 cells per well in 100 micro liter media per well. Cells were incubated overnight (-14 hrs). Next day the spent media was changed in all the wells either with the regular media as sham treatment for control or with media containing herb at desired concentrations. The cells were incubated for 24-26 hours with the herb extract. After 24 hours of incubation the cells morphology was photographed using bright field inverted microscope setup. The images were analysed for number of neurites per hundred cells (neurite index). Minimum four wells were plated for every concentration of herb for purpose of multiple readings and the mean score of those wells was taken to reduce the variability in reading due to fluctuations in different wells.
Various compositions were used as shown in Table-2 using the above assay. The data in table -2 summarises the neurite index which is the number of neurite grown per 100 cells.
Table-2

Component Comp Ex-A Ex-5A Ex-5 Ex-6A Ex-6 Ex-7A Ex-7
Bacopa, ppm in culture 0 10 10 6 6 2 2
Tea, ppm in culture 150 0 150 0 75 0 40
Bacopa, wt% in composition 0 - 1.7 - 2.0 - 1.3
Neurite Index 12.6 16.9 17.0 17.6 15.9 14.6 16.0
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The data in Table - 2 indicates that composition as per the invention (Examples 5 to 7) are superior to the control (Comp. Ex - A) where only tea was added. Further the neurite index achieved with Bacopa incorporated in tea (Example 5 to 7) is comparable to having Bacopa alone (Examples 5A to 7A), based on which it can be concluded that tea does not have an antagonistic effect on neurite growth on incorporation of Bacopa in it. Rather the efficacy of Bacopa is maintained when tea is used as a vehicle.
Effect of Vanillin
Examples 8 to 10
Various tea compositions were prepared as summarized in Table-3. The compositions
were prepared as per the process given below.
Process to prepare the tea compositions:
One kg of Black tea was taken in a planetary mixer and blended with indicated amount of Bacopa monnieri and Vanilla flavour powder for about 5 minutes to form a dry blend. Water was then sprayed on to the dry blend to form a wet mass at a moisture content of 12%. The wet mass was then dried in a fluid bed drier at temperature of 55°C to a tea composition having moisture content of about 5%.
Tea beverages were prepared with the tea compositions of Example 8 to 10 using a method as described for Example-1 and the taste of the tea beverage was evaluated. The taste is summarized in Table-3.
Table-3

Composition Example -8 Example-9 Example-10
Bacopa monnieh powder, wt% 1.75 1.75 1.75
Natural Vanilla flavour, wt% 0 0.65 0.25
Tea To 100 To 100 To 100
Taste Acceptable Highly Acceptablebut vanilla taste bittoo strong Highly acceptable
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The data in Table 3 indicates that the inclusion of vanilla flavour in small amounts in the tea composition of the invention makes the beverage made out of it highly acceptable to the consumer. The more preferred amount of vanilla is up to 0.6 % by weight of the tea composition.
Effect of %bacosides in the Bacopa monnieri
Example -11 and Comparative Example A and C
Tea Compositions as shown in Table-4 were prepared using the process as described
for Example-1. A beverage was prepared using the same method as used for Example
-1.
The beverage was tasted by seven people who were asked to score the beverage on a
score of 0 to 5 with the score of 0 being most acceptable and the score of 5 being most
bitter. Table 4 also lists the average score for each of the compositions. An average
score of 0 to 3 is generally considered acceptable while a score of more than 3 is
considered not acceptable.
Table-4

Composition Comparative Example -A Example-11 Comparative Example-C
Bacopa monnieri powder, wt% 0 1.75 1.75
bacosides in the Bacopa monnieri, wt% 10 20
Wt% Tea 100 To 100 To 100
Taste, average score 0 1.0 4.4
The data in Table-4 indicates that using Bacopa monnieri having bacosides in a tea composition at as high as 20% is not acceptable to the consumer.
Dated this 2nd day of March 2007

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