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Author Spotlight: Exploring Tea Aroma Using Solvent-Assisted Flavor Evaporation Technique
Published on: May 26, 2023
Metabolomics combined with proteomics provides a novel interpretation of the changes in nonvolatile compounds during
Qincao Chen1, Jiang Shi2, Bing Mu2
1Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 9 Meiling South Road, West Lake District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310008, China; College of Agriculture, Jiangxi Agricultural University, No. 1101 Zhimin Avenue, Qingshan Lake District, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330045, China.
Abstract:
In this study, metabolomics and proteomics were employed to investigate the change mechanism of nonvolatile compounds during white tea processing. A total of 99 nonvolatile compounds were identified, among which the contents of 13 free amino acids, caffeine, theaflavins, 7 nucleosides and nucleotides, and 5 flavone glycosides increased significantly, while the contents of theanine, catechins, theasinesins, 3 proanthocyanidins, and phenolic acids decreased significantly during the withering period. The results of proteomics indicated that the degradation of proteins accounted for the increase in free amino acid levels; the weakened biosynthesis, in addition to oxidation, also contributed to the decrease in flavonoid levels; the degradation of ribonucleic acids contributed to the increase in nucleoside and nucleotide levels during the withering period. In addition, the drying process was found to slightly promote the formation of white tea taste. Our study provides a novel characterization of white tea taste formation during processing.
