For the effect of steaming, it was found that steamed miang contained higher total phenolic
compounds (both EGCG and EGC) compared with non-steamed samples. This might be due to
the phenolic compounds in fresh leaves being all in polymerized (undetectable) form and they
may be decomposed by heat into single molecules. Due to catechin (the smallest molecule monitored) being absent in the miang samples, it can be deduced that the fermenting microbes
may use this substance as their carbon source because of its simple structure and is easy to
hydrolyze.