Characterisation of odorant compounds and their biochemical formation in green tea with a low temperature storage process.

We produced low temperature (15 °C) processed green tea (LTPGT) with higher aroma contents than normal green tea (Sencha). Normal temperature processed green tea (NTPGT), involved storing at 25 °C, and Sencha had no storing process. Sensory evaluation showed LTPGT had higher levels of floral and sweet odorants than NTPGT and Sencha. Aroma extract dilution analysis and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-olfactometry indicated LTPGT had 12 aroma compounds with high factor dilution values (FD). Amongst LTPGT's 12 compounds, indole, jasmine lactone, cis-jasmone, coumarin, and methyl epijasmonate contributed to floral, fruity and sweet characters. In particular, indole increased initially, peaking at 16 h, then gradually decreased. Feeding experiments suggested [(15)N]indole and [(15)N]oxygenated indoles (OX-indoles) were produced from [(15)N]anthranilic acid. We proposed the increase in indole was due to transformation of anthranilic acid during the 16 h storage and the subsequent decline in indole level was due to its conversion to OX-indoles.

Characterisation of volatile and non-volatile metabolites in etiolated leaves of tea (Camellia sinensis) plants in the dark.

Aroma is an essential factor affecting the quality of tea (Camellia sinensis) products. While changes of volatile compounds during tea manufacturing have been intensively studied, the effect of environmental factors on volatile contents of fresh tea leaves has received less attention. We found that C. sinensis var. Yabukita kept in darkness by shading treatment for 3 weeks developed etiolated leaves with significantly increased levels of volatiles, especially volatile phenylpropanoids/benzenoids (VPBs). Upstream metabolites of VPBs, in particular shikimic acid, prephenic acid, and phenylpyruvic acid, showed lower levels in dark treated than in control leaves, whereas the contents of most amino acids including l-phenylalanine, a key precursor of VPBs, were significantly enhanced. In addition, analysis by ultra performance liquid chromatography-time of flight mass spectrometry, capillary electrophoresis-time of flight mass spectrometry, high performance liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry indicated that volatile and non-volatile metabolite profiles differed significantly between dark treated and untreated leaves.