SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR VIDYA

MANDIR

BIOLOGY INVESTIGATORY
PROJECT
ESTIMATION OF RELATIVE AMOUNT OF CAFFEINE IN
DIFFERENT BRANDS OF TEA

S.PAVITHARA
XII
0

ROLL NO. 18

CERTIFICATE

It is hereby certified that S.PAVITHARA of class XII has

satisfactorily completed the Investigatory Project in the subject
of Biology on the topic ESTIMATION OF RELATIVE AMOUNT
OF CAFFEINE IN DIFFERENT BRANDS OF TEA in the school
laboratory.
The work carried out to investigate about the subject matter
and the related data collection is original and genuine and has
been completed solely and satisfactorily by the student.

SIGNATURE of TEACHER
SIGNATURE of PRINCIPAL

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my gratitude to my teacher Mrs.LEENA

SINGH as well as the principal of my institution Mrs.MAMATHA
RAVIPRAKASH who gave me the golden opportunity to carry out
this wonderful project on the topic Estimation Of Relative
Amount Of Caffeine In Different Brands Of Tea through which I
learnt many things. I am very thankful to them.
Secondly, I would also like to thank our Lab assistants
Mr.DINESH and Mr.GURURAJ who provided me with the facilities
and conductive conditions required for on-time completion of
this Project. I also would like to thank my parents and friends
who helped me a lot in finalizing and completing this project
within the limited time frame. The errors and inconsistencies, if
any, remain my own.

CONTENTS

SL.NO

TITLE

PAGE NO.

CERTIFICATE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

INTRODUCTION

AIM OF THE PROJECT

APPARATUS

PRINCIPLE

PROCEDURE

OBSERVATION

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RESULT

10

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INFERENCE

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REFERENCES

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1.

INTRODUCTION

Tea (Thea sinensis) is the most commonly and widely used soft beverage
in the household. It acts as a stimulant for central nervous system and
skeletal muscles and therefore removes fatigue, tiredness and headache.
It also increases the capacity of thinking. It is also used for lowering body
temperature. The principal constituent of tea, which is responsible for all
these properties, is the alkaloid-caffeine. The amount of caffeine in tea
leaves varies from sample to sample.

The most important methylated alkaloid that occurs naturally is

caffeine.
C8 H 10 N 4 O2
Its molecular formula is
Its IUPAC name is 1, 3, 7-trimethylxanthene and common name is
1-methylated thiobromine.
Purely it is white, crystalline solid in the form of needles.
Its melting point is 1230C.

PROPERTIES OF CAFFEINE

It is a bitter alkaloid.
It is psycho stimulant.
It improves physical and mental ability.
Its effect in learning is doubtful but intellectual performance may
improve as it has been used to reduce fatigue or boredom.
When administered internally, it stimulates the heart and nervous
system.
It is a mild diuretic i.e.; it increases urine output.
On the contrary their excessive use proves to be hazardous and
their long use may lead to mental retardation, digestion related
problems, renal malfunction, nervousness, etc.

Uses of Caffeine:
In medicine, it is used to stimulate, central nervous system and to
increase flow of urine.
Caffeine has been used to relieve fatigue because of its stimulating
effects. But it is dangerous and one may collapse if not consumes it
under certain limit.
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Caffeine is also used in analgesic tablets, as it is believed to be a

pain reliever. It is also beneficial in migraines.

FIGURE 1

CAFFEINE MOLECULE

FIGURE 2 CAFFEINE (PURE) POWDER

FIGURE 3 CRSTAL STRUCTURE OF CAFFEINE

AIM OF THE PROJECT

To estimate the relative amount of caffeine present in various
brands of tea.

APPARATUS REQUIRED

BEAKERS
BUNSEN BURNER
TRIPOD STANDS
WIRE GAUZE
FUNNEL
SEPERATING FUNNEL
FILTER PAPER
DIGITAL WEIGH BALANCE
GLASS ROD
SAMPLES OF ATLEAST 2 DIFFERENT BRANDS OF TEA

CHEMICALS

LEAD ACETATE [

CH

COO
3

CHLOROFORM (

CHCl3

PRINCIPLE
Caffeine is the main active principle component of tea leaves.
It is present in tea leaves up to 3% and can be extracted by first boiling
the tea leaves with water which dissolves many glycoside compounds in
addition to caffeine.
The clear solution is then treated with lead acetate to precipitate the
glycoside compounds in the form of lead complex.
The clear filtrate is then boiled and reduced to one third its initial volume.
It is later extracted with chloroform because caffeine is more soluble in it
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than in water. This chloroform extract is later exposed in order to allow

evaporation of chloroform.

PROCEDURE

Take at least two different brands of tea (here, Brooke Bond three roses
brand and Tetley green tea brand are taken).
To 150 ml of water add 50 g of tea leaves, in a beaker. Then heat the
beaker to extreme boiling.
Filter the solution and add lead acetate to the filtrate, leading to the
formation of a curdy brown coloured precipitate.
Continue adding lead acetate till no more precipitate has been formed.
Again filter the solution.
The filtrate so obtained is heated until it has become 50 ml. allow it to
cool
Add 20 ml of chloroform to the filtrate. Two layers appear.
Separate the lower layer using a separating funnel.
Expose the solution to the atmosphere in order to allow the chloroform to
get evaporated.
The residue left behind is caffeine.
Weigh the residue.
Perform the above procedure with different samples of tea leaves and
observe the quantity of caffeine in them.
Tabulate your observations.
The relative (percentage) amount of caffeine present in a given tea
sample is calculated using the formula:
Weight of caffeine
100
Initial weight of tea sample

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FIGURE 4-SAMPLE OF GREEN TEA UEDS: TETLEY GREEN TEA

FIGURE 5-SAMPLE OF RED LABEL TEA USED: BROOKE BOND 3 ROSES

FIGURE 6- BOILING OF TEA LEAVES

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FIGURE 7CURDY BROWN PRECIPITATE FORMED AFTER ADDING LEAD ACETATE

FIGURE 8-THE PRECIPITATED MIXTURE IS FILTERED

FIGURE 9- THE FILTERED MIXTURE IS BOILED

OBSERVATIONS
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SL
NO
1
2
3
4

BRAND OF TEA SAMPLE

Brooke bond 3 Roses

(Red Label)
Brooke bond 3 Roses
(Red Label)
Tetley Green Tea
(Green Label)
Tetley Green Tea
(Green Label)

INITIAL WEIGHT
OF TEA SAMPLE

WEIGHT OF
CAFFEINE
OBTAINED

PERCENTAGE
OF CAFFEINE
PRESENT

20.65 g

0.615 g

2.978%

21 g

0.629 g

2.995%

16.50 g

0.32 g

1.99%

19 g

0.38 g

2%

RESULT
THE AVERAGE AMOUNT OF CAFFEINE PRESENT IN
A. Red label tea : 2.987%
B. Green label tea : 1.995%
THEREFORE, RED LABEL TEA CONTAINS APPRECIABLE AMOUNT OF
CAFFEINE, SLIGHTLY MORE THAN GREEN LABEL TEA.

INFERENCE
The results obtained are affirmative. Both the brands of tea tested positive
for caffeine. Comparision between the brands revealed that Brooke bond 3
roses (red label) contained slightly higher levels of caffeine which may be
responsible for better enhanced flavour and is comparatively a better
energy provider. However, Tetley green tea (green label) also gave
satisfactory results.
To avoid adverse effects tea with optimal amount of caffeine should be
considered.

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REFERENCES

Books

Together with Biology Lab Manual Class 12

Exploring Biology for Medical Entrances by Sudhakar Banerjee and
Sanjay Sharma
NCERT Biology Class 12

Web

Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine
icbse.com projects.icbse.com Chemistry
Google Images

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