The influence of pH on auto-oxidative browning of flavan-3-ols and gallic acid as a promising browning inhibitor

revealed that most of these can only be formed through multi-step reactions. Therefore, oxidation potentials of the starting flavan-3-ols are unsuitable for predicting browning. Browning inhibition in real green tea can be achieved by maintaining a pH below 4 with either conventional additives (i.e. ascorbic or citric acid) or with gallic acid, a compound naturally abundant in tea. In conclusion, gallic acid is a promising candidate for clean-label auto-oxidative browning inhibition.