Use of polysaccharide-based aerogels in iced tea clarification process

Date

2026-02-15

Author

Namlı, Serap
Güven, Özge
Taskin, Emre
Öztop, Halil Mecit

Metadata

Show full item record

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Item Usage Stats

63
views

19
downloads

Cite This

Polysaccharide-based aerogels, particularly those produced from chitosan and xanthan gum, offer a sustainable and efficient alternative for clarifying ready-to-drink (RTD) tea infusions. In this study, the aerogels were applied to black and green teas to reduce turbidity and tea cream formation during 20 days of storage. Key quality attributes were evaluated, including clarity (transmittance, tea cream), color (L∗, a∗, b∗, ΔE), and catechin content. Water mobility assessed by NMR relaxation and diffusion, molecular interactions with tea components examined by FTIR. Chitosan aerogels significantly reduced cream formation and helped maintain color stability in black tea. In green tea, however, they caused more noticeable color changes, reflected by higher ΔE values, though catechin losses remained moderate. FTIR results showed surface-level interactions between aerogels and tea components such as proteins and polyphenols. NMR relaxometry also indicated reduced water mobility after treatment, supporting surface adsorption. Xanthan gum aerogels produced similar clarity improvements, although color shifts were slightly more pronounced in green tea. Despite these effects, both aerogels preserved essential quality characteristics. Overall, food-grade polysaccharide aerogels serve as effective alternatives to conventional adsorbents. Their porous structure allows selective removal of turbidity-related compounds, while their easy handling and biodegradability make them promising options for beverage clarification.

Subject Keywords

Adsorption, Polysaccharide aerogels, Tea clarification, Tea cream

URI

https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=105029623271&origin=inward
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/118673

Collections

Department of Food Engineering, Article