title: Variation of theanine, phenolic, and methylxanthine compounds in 21 cultivars of Camellia sinensis harvested in different seasons.
abstract: This is the first study to use chemometric methods to differentiate among 21 cultivars of Camellia sinensis from China and between leaves harvested at different times of the year using 30 compounds implicated in the taste and quality of tea. Unique patterns of catechin derivatives were observed among cultivars and across harvest seasons. C. sinensis var. pubilimba (You 510) differed from the cultivars of C. sinensis var. sinensis, with higher levels of theobromine, (+)-catechin, gallocatechin, gallocatechin gallate and theasinensin B, and lower levels of (-)-epicatechin, (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC) and (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), respectively. Three cultivars of C. sinensis var. sinensis, Fuyun 7, Qiancha 7 and Zijuan contained significantly more caffeoylquinic acids than others cultivars. A Linear Discriminant Analysis model based on the abundance of 12 compounds was able to discriminate amongst all 21 tea cultivars. Harvest time impacted the abundance of EGC, theanine and afzelechin gallate.
authors.affiliation: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Unilever R&D Colworth, Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire MK44 1JA, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Sally P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Redfern
authors.affiliation: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Don
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kirkup
authors.affiliation: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Elaine A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Porter
authors.affiliation: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Geoffrey C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Kite
authors.affiliation: Plant Science Laboratory, Cranfield University, Bedfordshire MK43 0AL, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Leon A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Terry
authors.affiliation: Unilever R&D Colworth, Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire MK44 1JA, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Mark J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Berry
authors.affiliation: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB, United Kingdom. Electronic address: m.simmonds@kew.org.
authors.forename: Monique S J
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Simmonds
mesh_terms: D028241:Camellia sinensis / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D002392:Catechin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis; D002681:China; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000032:analysis; D005971:Glutamates / Q000032:analysis*; D010636:Phenols / Q000032:analysis*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000032:analysis*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry; D012621:Seasons; D014970:Xanthines / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D005419:Flavonoids; D005971:Glutamates; D010636:Phenols; D010936:Plant Extracts; D014970:Xanthines; C576796:epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate epigallocatechin dimer; C417940:gallocatechin gallate; C008514:methylxanthine; C026166:theanine; D002392:Catechin; C045651:epigallocatechin gallate; C057580:gallocatechol; C510796:afzelechin
keywords: Camellia sinensis; Catechin (PubChem CID: 9064); Chinese tea cultivars; Cross-validation; Epicatechin (PubChem CID: 72276); Epicatechin gallate (PubChem CID: 107905); Epigallocatechin (PubChem CID: 72277); Epigallocatechin gallate (PubChem CID: 65064); Gallocatechin (PubChem CID: 9882981); Gallocatechin gallate (PubChem CID: 199472); Linear Discriminant Analysis; Mode of variation; QDA; RPCA; Stepwise classification; Tukey’s HSD