Wir sind im Team Theanin

...denn diese unscheinbare Aminosäure macht aus einem einfachen Heißgetränk einen Genuss, der nicht nur den Gaumen streichelt, sondern auch Körper, Geist und Seele beflügelt!

Theanin Vorkommen

Sein natürliches Vorkommen hat Theanin in der echten Teepflanze Camellia Sinensis. Da Theanin durch Fermentation teilweise abgebaut wird, enthält schwarzer Tee nur geringe Mengen dieser Aminosäure, während der Gehalt beim unfermentierten Grüntee erhalten beibt. Theanin kann vom Körper nicht selbst produziert werden und ist zwar nicht überlebensnotwendig für den Menschen, doch Forscher bestätigen zahlreiche positive Wirkungen von L-Theanin auf Körper und Geist.

L-Theanin (natürliches Theanin) und auch die anderen Aminosäuren im Grünen Tee sind vor allem in Grüntees der frühen 1. Pflückung enthalten. Mit dem Jahreslauf nimmt der Gehalt langsam ab, das Theanin wird zu Catechinen umgewandelt.

Untersuchungen einiger KEIKO Tees bestätigen einen höheren Theaningehalt bei den Frühpflückungen (siehe Grafik, Analysen erstellt vom Institut Kurz, 2015).

Auch die zeitweilige Beschattung der Teesträucher während der Zeit vor der Ernte bei Kabusecha und Gyokuro fördert den Gehalt an Theanin. Als voll beschattete Grüntees dürften die zwei neuen Gyokuro-Sorten sowie Sae Tezumi als handgepflückter Halbschattentee im KEIKO Sortiment somit zu den theaninreichsten Tees gehören - waren zum Zeitpunkt der Analysen jedoch noch nicht verfügbar und fehlen deshalb in der Grafik.

Neben der Anbaumethode und dem Pflückzeitpunkt ist auch das verwendete Kultivar maßgeblich für den Theaningehalt im Tee. So wurde beispielsweise beim Benifuuki aus der ersten Hauptpflückung trotz leichter Anfermentierung ein hoher Anteil an Theanin festgestellt.

Mizudashi Kaltaufguss Die Aminosäure Theanin gibt es in zwei Formen, als D-Theanin und L-Theanin, wobei letztere oft als Synonym für Theanin verwendet wird, da sie das natürliche Theanin ist. D-Theanin entsteht bei einer chemischen Herstellung der Aminosäure und wurde aufgrund des deutlich geringeren Vorkommens bisher wenig erforscht.

Übrigens: Theanin löst sich am besten bei niedriger Aufgusstemperatur - ideal für ein Maximum an Theanin ist also ein Mizudashi Kaltaufguss!

Theanin und Geschmack

Geschmacklich macht sich ein hoher Theaningehalt im Aufguss durch ein süßes, weiches Aroma mit wenig Bitterkeit bemerkbar. In Kombination mit den anderen im Grüntee enthaltenen Aminosäuren ist L-Theanin eine entscheidende Quelle des Umami Aromas, der 5. Geschmacksrichtung neben süß, salzig, sauer und bitter, die im Japanischen für würziges, herzhaftes oder vollmundiges Aroma steht.

Als Tee konsumiert soll es außerdem die Geschmackswahrnehmung verändern und insbesondere die bitteren Geschmacksnoten in Lebensmitteln wie Schokolade und Grapefruit kompensieren.

Wirkung

L-Theanin kann vom Körper gut resorbiert werden und gelangt über die Blutbahn zum zentralen Nervensystem. Hier reguliert es die Verfügbarkeit von Botenstoffen wie GABA, Serotonin und Dopamin. Diese Neurotransmitter regulieren im Gehirn Emotionen, Stimmung, Konzentration, Wachsamkeit, Schlaf sowie Appetit, Energie und andere kognitive Fähigkeiten.

Serotonin (hauptsächlich im Darm zu finden) und Dopamin regulieren oft die gleichen Dinge, tun dies aber auf unterschiedliche Weise. Sie sind vor allem dafür bekannt, im Körper für Tatendrang und gute Laune zu sorgen, können aber auch bei Angststörungen helfen und entspannend wirken.

Außerdem wurden positive Auswirkungen auf Herz und Kreislauf sowie blutdruck-regulierende Eigenschaften festgestellt, die sich zum Teil in Kombination mit anderen Bestandteilen des Grüntees sogar noch potenzieren.

GABA (Gamma-Amino-Buttersäure) befindet sich überwiegend im Gehirn. Allle Funktionen, die mit Gefühlen zu tun haben, werden durch GABA beeinflusst. Seit Jahrhunderten wird GABA in China traditionell als Beruhigungsmittel angewendet. In der Kombination mit L-Theanin soll es die Schlafqualität und -dauer verbessern.

Die Kombination mit Koffein wiederum wirkt sich positiv auf die kognitiven Fähigkeiten aus und verbessert die Konzentration – kombiniert ist der Effekt jeweils stärker als bei der isolierten Einnahme der beiden Wirkstoffe.

Diese Synergieeffekte und Wechselwirkungen der verschiedenen Inhaltsstoffe des grünen Tees machen den Teegenuss gegenüber der Einnahme von Theaninpräparaten bzw. Theaninextrakt besonders attraktiv.

Fazit

Theanin ist also nicht nur für das feine, süße und vollmundige Aroma verantwortlich, welches wir beim Japanischen Grüntee so lieben.

Es sorgt gleichzeitig insbesondere für gute Laune ("Gute-Laune-Vitamin"), Entspannung, Konzentration, besseren Schlaf und kann sogar bei Problemen mit Herz, Kreislauf, Blutdruck sowie Angstzuständen hilfreich sein.

Mehr als genug Gründe für das #teamtheanin, wie wir finden. Sie sind dazu herzlich eingeladen!

Fotos von Hendrik Oehlschlaeger

Quellen und Studien zur Wirkungsweise von L-Theanin:

Breus, Michael J (2017): What You Need to Know About L-theanine - Sleep better at night, feel relaxed during the day, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sleep-newzzz/201708/what-you-need-know-about-l-theanine (Abgerufen im Januar 2021)
Ai Yoto, Mao Motoki, Sato Murao and Hidehiko Yokogoshi (2012): Effects of L-theanine or caffeine intake on changes in blood pressure under physical and psychological stresses, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3518171/ (Abgerufen im Dezember 2020)
F. L. Dodd, D. O. Kennedy, L. M. Riby, and C. F. Haskell-Ramsay (2015): A double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating the effects of caffeine and L-theanine both alone and in combination on cerebral blood flow, cognition and mood, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4480845/ (Abgerufen im Dezember 2020)
Simon P. Kelly, Manuel Gomez-Ramirez, Jennifer L. Montesi, John J. Foxe (2008): L-Theanine and Caffeine in Combination Affect Human Cognition as Evidenced by Oscillatory alpha-Band Activity and Attention Task Performance, https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/138.8.1572S (Abgerufen im Dezember 2020)
Suhyeon Kim, Kyungae Jo, Ki-Bae Hong, Sung Hee Han & Hyung Joo Suh (2019): GABA and l-theanine mixture decreases sleep latency and improves NREM sleep, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13880209.2018.1557698?src=recsys (Abgerufen im Dezember 2020)
Chanaka N. Kahathuduwa, Tharaka L. Dassanayake, A. M. Tissa Amarakoon & Vajira S. Weerasinghe (2016):Acute effects of theanine, caffeine and theanine–caffeine combination on attention, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1028415X.2016.1144845?src=recsys (Abgerufen im Dezember 2020)

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Shoppingbag #teamtheanin

Item No.: 60007.1 Show your love for green tea with this fancy #teamtheanine shopper from 100% organic cotton. +fair wear +vegan +organic +earth positive* *This bag is produced by the standards of EarthPositive (a brand of the Continental Clothing Company, member of the FairWear Foundation) to ensure climate friendly and ethical business practices.

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