title: Effect of girdling on levels of catechins in fresh leaf in relation to quality of 'Huang Zhi Xiang' Oolong' tea.
abstract: Oolong tea is one of the most popular beverages due to the presence of significant amount of catechins. Experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of girdling treatment on levels of catechins in fresh tea leaf related to quality of the 'Huang Zhi Xiang' Oolong tea (Camellia sinensis). The variations in the levels of catechins in fresh tea leaf and the quality score (QS) of the 'Huang Zhi Xiang' Oolong tea were examined. The study demonstrated that girdling treatment increased significantly the levels of (-)-epicatechin, (-)-epigallocatechin, (-)-epigallocatechin gallate, (-)-epicatechin gallate, total catechins, simple catechin, and catechin gallate present in fresh leaf of tea trees. Furthermore, the girdling treatment improved significantly the quality of the 'Huang Zhi Xiang' Oolong tea. Thus, it was suggested that application of girdling treatment could be an effective agronomic practice to increase the quality of 'Huang Zhi Xiang' Oolong tea.
authors.affiliation: South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yulong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.forename: Shaoyu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: En
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yuming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods*; D028241:Camellia sinensis / Q000737:chemistry*; D002392:Catechin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis*; D024301:Plant Bark; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry*; D028321:Plant Preparations / Q000737:chemistry*; D013662:Tea / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000592:standards
chemical_list: D028321:Plant Preparations; D013662:Tea; D002392:Catechin