This technology utilizes the Aspergillus niger N092 strain, isolated from microbial fermented tea made with small-leaf tea from the Boseong region, as a biocatalyst for producing fermented tea. When this biocatalyst is added to tea leaves or raw tea during fermentation, it enhances the final product's anti-wrinkle, whitening, anti-diabetic, and anti-obesity properties.
As tea cultivation areas and production volumes have surged, the industry has faced falling prices due to an accumulation of unsold green tea and autumn/winter tea, which often lacks aroma and has a bitter taste. Traditional microbial fermented teas, like Pu-erh, rely on "wet-pile" fermentation, where tons of tea are stacked and managed by experts based on intuition to control temperature and humidity. This makes quality consistency difficult, prevents small-batch production, and relies on large-leaf varieties, leaving a shortage of fermentation strains suitable for domestic small-leaf tea.
This technology selects the most effective strain from various microorganisms isolated from fermented tea—specifically those showing superior elastase, tyrosinase, and epoxide hydrolase inhibition—to serve as a biocatalyst. The resulting tea extracts can be used in food compositions for managing diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and fatty liver, as well as in cosmetic compositions for anti-wrinkle and whitening effects. By applying this to functional fermented tea products, health supplements, and cosmetics, we can repurpose low-value autumn/winter tea and surplus green tea into high-value functional ingredients, thereby increasing income for tea farmers.
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