Abstract
THE darkening of plant tissue following extensive mechanical damage is a frequently observed phenomenon and is due to irreversible oxidation of polyphenols. The effect is particularly well marked in the tea–leaf, where the tannin oxidation results in the development of the characteristic copper–red colour of ‘fermented’ tea–leaf.
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References
Phillis and Mason, NATURE, 140, 370 (1937).
Deb and Roberts, Biochem. J., 34, 1507 (1940).
Roberts and Sarma, Biochem. J., 34, 1517 (1940).
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ROBERTS, E. Post–mortem Darkening of Plant Tissues and its Relation to Respiration. Nature 148, 285 (1941). https://doi.org/10.1038/148285a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/148285a0
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