Study of the dynamic changes in the non-volatile chemical constituents of black tea during fermentation processing by a non-targeted metabolomics approach

Fermentation is a critical manufacturing process to produce black tea, in which the chemical compositions are greatly changed. However, the dynamic changes of this sophisticated process are far from clear, and were often characterized by determining a small number of compounds. In this study, we applied a non-targeted metabolomics approach based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry to comprehensively profile the variations of metabolites in tea samples with various fermentation durations of 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 h. Principal component analysis indicated obvious stepwise alterations of tea metabolome during the fermentation. Relative quantitation of 61 identified metabolites including catechins, dimeric catechins, flavonol glycosides, amino acids, phenolic acids, alkaloids, and nucleosides revealed distinct changes of phenol pathway. Dynamic changes of a part of these compounds were mapped for the first time. To the best of our knowledge, this study offered the most comprehensive profiles of metabolite changes during the tea fermentation process.     

不同茶类加工副产物的化学成分分析

为了实现对不同茶类加工副产物的有效利用,本文研究了绿茶、乌龙茶和红茶的茶片、茶末、茶梗和大宗茶中化学成分含量,并进行比较分析。结果表明:绿茶是不发酵茶,其茶片和茶末中儿茶素含量分别为19.34%和18.52%,高于其他茶类和副产物,与绿茶大宗茶含量相近甚至高于大宗茶,茶梗中游离氨基酸和总糖含量分别为2.65%和22.85%,高于其他副产物和大宗茶;红茶为发酵茶,其茶片、茶末和茶梗中茶黄素和聚酯型儿茶素(TSs)含量较高,其中红茶茶末中茶黄素总量(TFs)、聚酯型儿茶素A(TSA)和聚酯型儿茶素B(TSB)含量最高,分别为0.96%、1.65%和0.53%;乌龙茶是半发酵茶,其加工副产物中儿茶素、TFs、TSs含量居于绿茶和红茶之间,氨基酸组分含量低于绿茶和红茶。研究表明,绿茶、乌龙茶和红茶茶片和茶末的茶多酚、水浸出物、总糖、可溶性蛋白、咖啡碱以及儿茶素和游离氨基酸组分等化学成分利用价值与大宗茶相近,甚至高于大宗茶,茶梗中总糖和游离氨基酸组分含量高,利用价值高于大宗茶,本研究明晰了不同茶类及其加工副产物的化学成分含量,可为茶叶加工副产物的进一步研究和开发利用提供基础。     

影响普洱熟茶香气品质的关键香气成分分析

普洱熟茶是产于我国云南省的一种采用晒青毛茶制作的后发酵茶。本研究采用顶空固相微萃取(HS-SPME)技术结合气相色谱-质谱联用(GC-MS)技术,分析比较了不同香气感官品质得分的两组普洱熟茶样品的香气相对含量水平差异。相关性分析和主成分分析研究表明,3,4,5-三甲氧基-苯甲醛、亚甲基-丁酸-二甲酯、2-乙基-丁酸-2-丙烯基酯、3,4-二甲氧基甲苯和5-甲基-1,2,3-三甲氧基-苯等香气成分的相对含量水平与普洱熟茶香气品质得分的相关性达到极显著水平(p0.01),橙花醇、橙花叔醇以及十六烷酸等香气成分的相对含量水平与普洱熟茶香气品质得分的相关性达到显著水平(p0.05),表明它们是影响普洱熟茶香气品质的关键香气成分。此外,本研究还采用PLS回归初步建立了1个基于上述关键香气品质成分相对含量水平的普洱熟茶香气品质评价模型。     

EGCG甲基化衍生物的清除DPPH自由基活性和总抗氧化活性

采用制备色谱技术,通过甲基化技术得到的甲基化儿茶素粗品中,分离纯化出3个甲基化表没食子儿茶素没食子酸酯(EGCG)的单体,结合LC/MS和NMR等分别确定为4',4″-di-Me-EGCG、4',3″,4″-tri-Me-EGCG以及4',3″,4″,5″-tetra-Me-EGCG;进一步比较了这3个EGCG甲基衍生物单体与98%EGCG在清除DPPH自由基活性和总抗氧化活性等方面的差异。结果表明:EGCG甲基化后清除DPPH自由基活性和总抗氧化活性都有明显的降低,总体上分别只有98%EGCG的68.17%和6.84%。     

近红外光谱技术在茶叶品质评价中的研究与应用

介绍了近红外光谱技术的原理及其在品质评价方面的研究进展,着重阐述了该技术在茶叶品质评价中的研究概况以及存在的问题,并对该技术在茶叶品质评价中的应用前景进行了分析。     

Effects of aqueous brewing solution pH on the extraction of the major green tea constituents

The pH of the aqueous brewing solution was maintained at values ranging from 1 to 9 during the green tea extraction and the effects on the tea's extracted constituents were studied. The epistructured catechins were stable under acidic conditions but epimerized or degraded at pH ≥ 6. The extractable solids contained more epistructured catechins at pHs 3–5 but more non-epistructured catechins at pHs 6–7. More tea cream was obtained at pH 1 but the concentration of catechins, caffeine and theanine was low in this fraction. Therefore, to maximize the extraction of the epistructured catechins and to minimize their epimerization and degradation and to maximize the extraction of caffeine and theanine, the results suggest that the pH should be maintained between 3 and 5.3 during the aqueous brewing process.     

Cream formation and main chemical components of green tea infusions processed from different parts of new shoots

The formation of green tea cream and its chemical components were investigated. The green tea infusions were processed from different parts of new shoots: the bud and the first leaf, the second leaf and its implicative stem, the third leaf and its implicative stem, and the fourth leaf and its implicative stem, which were named as first part, second part, third part and fourth part, respectively. The results showed that the formation of tea cream and its settlement slowed down gradually from the first part to the fourth part, and that the amount of tea cream also decreased accordingly. The amount of tea cream was influenced remarkably by the chemical components in the green tea infusion. The main components of green tea cream were polyphenols (29.86 –78.66%), total sugar (14.47–27.62%) and caffeine (2.35–10.43%). Catechins (12.8–42.5%) were the main components of polyphenols which participated in tea cream formation. The main components in the catechins were found to be (−)-epigallocatechin (EGC), (−)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), (−)-epicatechin (EC) and (−)-epicatechin gallate (ECG). Seven minerals were found in the tea cream, including Ca²⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺, Na⁺, Zn²⁺ and Ni²⁺.     

A review of recent studies in China on the possible beneficial health effects of tea

Tea is one of the most heavily consumed beverages in the world. The relationship between tea drinking and human health is becoming a subject of intense study by scientists throughout the world. In this paper, we first provide a comprehensive analysis of the medical literature on tea published in China during the past 20 years, and then highlight some recent studies in China on the relationship between tea and several human diseases. During the period 1982–2002, 691 research papers related to tea and health have been published in 290 Chinese journals. These studies showed that tea and tea constituents have various biological activities and suggested that tea drinking might be beneficial to human health. Tea has potential in the prevention or adjuvant treatment of several diseases including cancer, cardiovascular diseases and obesity. The trend and future direction in medical research on tea in China are also briefly discussed.     

茶叶儿茶素组分HPLC测定中的提取方法研究

以蒸青绿茶为材料,利用单因素试验和正交实验研究了不同提取时间、不同提取温度以及不同提取料液比例等对茶叶中儿茶素组分的影响。结果表明:当提取料液比例为1:125(g:mL)、提取温度为70℃、提取时间为30 min时,蒸馏水一次提取可以达到相对理想的提取效果,适用于常规分析实验。     

基于代谢组学研究不同花色种类云南白茶的化学成分差异

以云白毫、白牡丹（包括月光白一级和月光白二级）、云寿为云南白茶的代表性样品,采用基于超高效液相色谱-四极杆轨道阱质谱的代谢组学方法对不同花色种类云南白茶的化学成分差异进行研究。共鉴定出120 个化合物,包括儿茶素类、二聚儿茶素类、氨基酸类、生物碱类、酚酸类、有机酸类、香气糖苷类、N-乙基-2-吡咯烷酮取代的儿茶素类、黄酮糖苷类、脂质类等。偏最小二乘法判别分析和热图分析分别表明不同花色种类云南白茶的化学成分存在较大差异,共得到76 个化合物具有组间显著性差异（P＜0.05）,其中儿茶素类、二聚儿茶素类、生物碱类、酚酸类、茶氨酸等化合物随云南白茶原料嫩度的降低,含量下降;部分氨基酸和杨梅素苷在白牡丹中含量相对较高;芹菜素苷、山柰酚苷、槲皮素苷、脂质类化合物在云寿中含量相对较高。本研究可为云南白茶感官品质和营养价值的研究以及等级判别提供理论依据。