Geographical origin identification of Chinese white teas, and their differences in tastes, chemical compositions and antioxidant activities among three production regions

• DOI: 10.1016/j.fochx.2022.100504
• Publication Date: 2022-11-07T18:33:48Z
• Authors: Cunqiang Ma; Bingsong Ma; Jiacai Wang; Zihao Wang; Xuan Chen; Binxing Zhou; Xinghui Li
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; Production region; Nutrition. Foods and food supply; Multivariate statistical analysis; TP368-456; Food processing and manufacture; Catechins; 03 medical and health sciences; Umami; TX341-641; White tea; Research Article

The producing area of Chinese white tea has been expanded to Xinyang and Yunnan from Fuding region. In this study, six sensory tastes and fifty-one chemical components including seventeen phenolic compounds, three purine alkaloids and twenty amino acids were determined in eighteen Bai mudan sub-type of white tea by electronic tongue, high performance liquid chromatography and amino acid analyzer for geographical identification, respectively. Additionally, in vitro antioxidant activities were evaluated by five various assays. Multivariate statistical analyses such as PCA, HCA and PLS-DA, completely divided these white teas into Xinyang, Yunnan and Fuding groups, indicating the feasibility of white tea classification by the production region. Twelve characteristic compounds (VIP > 1.0, P < 0.05) like gallic acid, theaflavin and L-glutamic acid contributed to the geographical identification. In conclusion, this study explored the chemical, taste and antioxidant capacity differences among three main production regions, and revealed their potential relations in white tea.