Characterization and antimicrobial properties of Matcha green tea

Matcha, made from the finely ground powder of green tea leaves, is used as a nutritious food ingredient because of its unique properties. In this study, Matcha was characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Also, the antimicrobial properties of Matcha against 8 types of bacteria, 1 type of fungus, and 1 type of yeast were investigated. The results showed that Matcha has a completely amorphous structure and has a high content of carbon and oxygen. The results of antibacterial tests showed that Matcha has the ability to inhibit gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria as well as yeast, but has no effect on the fungus. Also, Matcha has a greater effect on gram-positive bacteria, which is due to the simple and reasonably porous cell wall of these bacteria. According to the results, the maximum and minimum inhibition zones created by Matcha belonged to Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli, respectively.