Aroma formation and dynamic changes during white tea processing

Qincao Chen; Yin Zhu; Weidong Dai; Haipeng Lv; Bing Mu; Pengliang Li; Junfeng Tan; Dejiang Ni; Zhi Lin

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.09.072

Aroma formation and dynamic changes during white tea processing

Food Chem. 2019 Feb 15:274:915-924. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.09.072. Epub 2018 Sep 12.

Authors

Qincao Chen¹, Yin Zhu², Weidong Dai³, Haipeng Lv³, Bing Mu⁴, Pengliang Li¹, Junfeng Tan³, Dejiang Ni⁵, Zhi Lin⁶

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 9 Meiling South Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310008, China; College of Horticulture and Forestry Science, Huazhong Agricultural University, No. 1 Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430070, China; Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 12 Zhongguancun South Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100081, China.
² Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 9 Meiling South Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310008, China. Electronic address: zhuy_scu@tricaas.com.
³ Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 9 Meiling South Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310008, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 9 Meiling South Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310008, China; Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 12 Zhongguancun South Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100081, China.
⁵ College of Horticulture and Forestry Science, Huazhong Agricultural University, No. 1 Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430070, China.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 9 Meiling South Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310008, China. Electronic address: linzhi@caas.cn.

PMID: 30373028
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.09.072

Abstract

The formation of and dynamic changes in aroma during white tea processing have not previously been systematically investigated. In this study, advanced comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry was employed to investigate the mechanism of white tea aroma formation. A total of 172 volatiles were identified and mainly comprising endogenous volatiles, which displayed diverse change trends during the withering period. In this process, free aroma precursor amino acids and glycosidically bound volatiles (GBVs) were found to contribute to the formation of white tea aroma, with the differential expression of aroma-related key genes accounting for various accumulation of endogenous volatiles and GBVs. In addition, the drying was also shown to play an important role in the formation of white tea aroma. Our study provides the first characterization of white tea aroma formation and establishes a theoretical basis for quality control during white tea processing operations.

Keywords: Amino acid; Aroma; GC × GC-TOFMS; Glycosidically bound volatile; White tea.

MeSH terms

Amino Acids / analysis
Camellia sinensis / chemistry
Camellia sinensis / genetics*
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / methods
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
Odorants / analysis*
Tea / chemistry*
Volatile Organic Compounds / analysis*

Substances

Amino Acids
Tea
Volatile Organic Compounds