Isolation and Quantitative Evaluation of Caffeine from Different Commercial Tea Powders Available in Raigad District, Maharashtra

Abstract Is a naturally occurring alkaloid widely found in beverages such as tea, coffee and cola, and is known for its central nervous system stimulant and mild diuretic properties. The amount of caffeine in tea varies depending on the brand, processing method and quality of tea leaves. The present study focuses on the extraction and comparative evaluation of caffeine from different commercial tea powder brands marketed in Raigad district, Maharashtra. Along with caffeine isolation, selected physicochemical parameters such as taste, pH, colour, bulk density and normality of aqueous extract were analysed to assess the quality of tea powders. Caffeine was isolated from tea samples using a liquid–liquid extraction method. A comparative study of different tea brands revealed variations in physicochemical properties and caffeine yields among samples. The findings highlight the importance of analytical evaluation of commercial tea products and provide useful information on caffeine content and quality assessment. This study demonstrates a simple and reliable laboratory method for caffeine extraction and characterization, which can be useful for academic research, quality control and further analytical investigations. Keywords: Caffeine, tea powder, liquid–liquid extraction, chloroform extraction, sublimation, thin layer chromatography (TLC).