title: Metabolomics-driven nutraceutical evaluation of diverse green tea cultivars.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Green tea has various health promotion effects. Although there are numerous tea cultivars, little is known about the differences in their nutraceutical properties. Metabolic profiling techniques can provide information on the relationship between the metabolome and factors such as phenotype or quality. Here, we performed metabolomic analyses to explore the relationship between the metabolome and health-promoting attributes (bioactivity) of diverse Japanese green tea cultivars.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We investigated the ability of leaf extracts from 43 Japanese green tea cultivars to inhibit thrombin-induced phosphorylation of myosin regulatory light chain (MRLC) in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). This thrombin-induced phosphorylation is a potential hallmark of vascular endothelial dysfunction. Among the tested cultivars, Cha Chuukanbohon Nou-6 (Nou-6) and Sunrouge (SR) strongly inhibited MRLC phosphorylation. To evaluate the bioactivity of green tea cultivars using a metabolomics approach, the metabolite profiles of all tea extracts were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Multivariate statistical analyses, principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least-squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), revealed differences among green tea cultivars with respect to their ability to inhibit MRLC phosphorylation. In the SR cultivar, polyphenols were associated with its unique metabolic profile and its bioactivity. In addition, using partial least-squares (PLS) regression analysis, we succeeded in constructing a reliable bioactivity-prediction model to predict the inhibitory effect of tea cultivars based on their metabolome. This model was based on certain identified metabolites that were associated with bioactivity. When added to an extract from the non-bioactive cultivar Yabukita, several metabolites enriched in SR were able to transform the extract into a bioactive extract.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that metabolic profiling is a useful approach for nutraceutical evaluation of the health promotion effects of diverse tea cultivars. This may propose a novel strategy for functional food design.
authors.affiliation: Innovation Center for Medical Redox Navigation, Kyushu University, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujimura
authors.forename: Kana
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kurihara
authors.forename: Megumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ida
authors.forename: Reia
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kosaka
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Miura
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wariishi
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maeda-Yamamoto
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nesumi
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Tomomasa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kanda
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Hirofumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tachibana
mesh_terms: D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000032:analysis*; D061307:Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D055432:Metabolomics / Q000379:methods*; D008954:Models, Biological; D018994:Myosin Light Chains / Q000378:metabolism; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000187:drug effects; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D059808:Polyphenols / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013662:Tea / Q000737:chemistry*; D013917:Thrombin / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D018994:Myosin Light Chains; D010936:Plant Extracts; D059808:Polyphenols; D013662:Tea; D013917:Thrombin