Nondestructive monitoring of polyphenols and caffeine during green tea processing using Vis-NIR spectroscopy

Increasing consumption of green tea is attributed to the beneficial effects of its constituents, especially polyphenols, on human health, which can be varied during leaf processing. Processing technology has the most important effect on green tea quality. This study investigated the system dynamics of eight catechins, gallic acid, and caffeine in the processing of two varieties of tea, from fresh leaves to finished tea. It was found that complex biochemical changes can occur through hydrolysis under different humidity and heating conditions during the tea processing. This process had a significant effect on catechin composition in the finished tea. The potential application of visible and near-infrared (Vis-NIR) spectroscopy for fast monitoring polyphenol and caffeine contents in tea leaves during the processing procedure has been investigated. It was found that a combination of PCA (principal component analysis) and Vis-NIR spectroscopy can successfully classify the two varieties of tea samples and the five tea processing procedures, while quantitative determination of the constituents was realized by combined regression analysis and Vis-NIR spectra. Furthermore, successive projections algorithm (SPA) was proposed to extract and optimize spectral variables that reflected the molecular characteristics of the constituents for the development of determination models. Modeling results showed that the models had good predictability and robustness based on the extracted spectral characteristics. The coefficients of determination for all calibration sets and prediction sets were higher than 0.862 and 0.834, respectively, which indicated high capability of Vis-NIR spectroscopy for the determination of the constituents during the leaf processing. Meanwhile, this analytical method could quickly monitor quality characteristics and provide feedback for real-time controlling of tea processing machines. Furthermore, the study on complex biochemical changes that occurred during the tea processing would provide a theoretical basis for improving the content of quality components and effective controlling processes.