This study aimed to evaluate the effects of processing methods on the content of biogenic amines in Zijuan tea by using derivatization and hot trichloroacetic acid extraction with HPLC-UV. The results showed that the most abundant biogenic amine in the original leaves was butylamine, followed by ethylamine, methylamine, 1,7-diaminoheptane, histamine, tyramine, and 2-phenethylamine. However, during the process of producing green tea, white tea, and black tea, the content of ethylamine increased sharply, which directly led to their total contents of biogenic amines increasing by 184.4%, 169.3%, and 178.7% compared with that of the original leaves, respectively. Unexpectedly, the contents of methylamine, ethylamine, butylamine, and tyramine in dark tea were significantly reduced compared with those of the original leaves. Accordingly, the total content of biogenic amines in dark tea was only 161.19 μg/g, a reduction of 47.2% compared with that of the original leaves, indicating that the pile-fermentation process could significantly degrade the biogenic amines present in dark tea.
Keywords: HPLC; Zijuan tea; biogenic amine; food quality; processing method.