Estimation of Caffeine, Niacin and Calorie Content in Tea Commonly Consumed by Dhaka City Residents

Tea is largest consuming drink in the world. Many h ealth claims is attributed towards the tea due to its distinguished phytochemical array. Role of tea is well established as a neutraceutical and many studies elucidate its pharm acological worth. The objective of this study was to calculate the calorie content by deter mining total lipid, crude fiber, total protein and available carbohydrate contents and estimation of caffeine and niacin content in Bangladeshi teas. The lipid, crude fiber, protein a nd available carbohydrate contents of the tea samples were found to be in the range of 3.25-5.53, 10.15-15.41, 12.97-17.08 and 4.78-6.21 g/100g fresh weight respectively while calorie cont ents were found in the range of 83.54- 101.46 Kcal/100g fresh weight of tea. The total caf feine and niacin content in teas ranged from 1.31 - 3.58 and 0.038 - 0.056 g/100g fresh wei ght respectively. Tea leaf contained the highest amount of caffeine (3.58 g/100g) and niacin (0.056 g/100g). As tea has different health effects it is essential to estimate the upda te nutrient contents of tea.