title: Metabolomic unveiling of a diverse range of green tea (Camellia sinensis) metabolites dependent on geography.
abstract: Numerous factors such as geographical origin, cultivar, climate, cultural practices, and manufacturing processes influence the chemical compositions of tea, in the same way as growing conditions and grape variety affect wine quality. However, the relationships between these factors and tea chemical compositions are not well understood. In this study, a new approach for non-targeted or global analysis, i.e., metabolomics, which is highly reproducible and statistically effective in analysing a diverse range of compounds, was used to better understand the metabolome of Camellia sinensis and determine the influence of environmental factors, including geography, climate, and cultural practices, on tea-making. We found a strong correlation between environmental factors and the metabolome of green, white, and oolong teas from China, Japan, and South Korea. In particular, multivariate statistical analysis revealed strong inter-country and inter-city relationships in the levels of theanine and catechin derivatives found in green and white teas. This information might be useful for assessing tea quality or producing distinct tea products across different locations, and highlights simultaneous identification of diverse tea metabolites through an NMR-based metabolomics approach.
authors.affiliation: Korean Alcoholic Beverage Research Center, Divisions of Convergence Technology, Korea Food Research Institute, Baekhyun, Sungnam, Kyungki 463-746, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jang-Eun
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Food Research Institute, AMOREPACIFIC R&D Center, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do 446-729, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Bum-Jin
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Food Research Institute, AMOREPACIFIC R&D Center, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do 446-729, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jin-Oh
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Division of Magnetic Resonance Research, Korea Basic Science Institute, Cheongwon 363-883, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hak-Nam
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Magnetic Resonance Research, Korea Basic Science Institute, Cheongwon 363-883, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Eun-Hee
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering, Chungbuk National University, Chungju 361-763, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sungheuk
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering, Chungbuk National University, Chungju 361-763, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyosang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Food Research Institute, AMOREPACIFIC R&D Center, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do 446-729, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sang-Jun
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Division of Food and Nutrition, Chonnam National University, Yongbong-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 500-757, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: chtiger@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Young-Shick
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Hong
mesh_terms: D028241:Camellia sinensis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005843:Geography; D055432:Metabolomics / Q000379:methods; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D013662:Tea / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts; D013662:Tea
keywords: Metabolite; Metabolomics; NMR; Tea