Huang Fan, Wu Haijun, Luo Fan, Wang Yingchun, Ye Yulong, Gong Yiyun, Ye Xianlin
Tea Research Institute, Sichuan Academy Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu 610066, China.
Sichuan Academy Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu 610061, China.
Foods. 2025 May 18;14(10):1795. doi: 10.3390/foods14101795.
The flavor profile of white tea emerges from the natural biochemical composition of its tender leaves, a delicate balance profoundly shaped by seasonal growing conditions and tea cultivars. However, the effects of harvest seasons on biochemical and volatile compounds in white teas in southwestern China have not been fully analyzed at present. This study investigated the sensory characteristics, biochemical components, and volatile compounds of 'Sanhua1951' spring white tea (SH-S), 'Sanhua1951' autumn white tea (SH-A), 'Fudingdabai' spring white tea (FD-S), and 'Fudingdabai' autumn white tea (FD-A). The results showed that the sensory quality (appearance, taste, and aroma) scores of spring tea were higher than those of autumn tea. Spring teas exhibited significantly higher epigallocatechin, soluble sugar, and amino acid levels than autumn teas ( < 0.05), whereas autumn teas contained greater contents of epicatechin gallate, catechin, caffeine, and polyphenols ( < 0.05), which were responsible for the differences in taste quality observed between samples with different harvest seasons. A total of 90 volatile compounds in four groups were identified through HS-SPME-GC-MS analysis, and spring white teas contained higher contents of and variability in volatile compounds than autumn white teas. According to the OPLS-DA model, 52 and 57 differential volatile compounds (VIP > 1, < 0.05, and fold change ≥ 2 or ≤0.5) were identified in SH-S vs. SH-A and FD-S vs. FD-A, including ()-linalool oxide, ()-linalool oxide, styrene, phenylethyl alcohol, ()-citral, etc. The odor active value (OAV) results indicated that 30 key differential volatile compounds (OAV > 1) were determined in four groups, among which β-ionone, 5,6-epoxy-β-ionone, linalool, and ()-linalool oxide exhibited particularly high OAVs and contributed more pekoe aroma and floral sensory characteristics. Notably, ()-linalool oxide, ()-jasmone, and δ-cadinene were identified in each cultivar. These findings suggest their potential as seasonal markers, paving the way for the development of white tea 'Sanhua1951' and 'Fudingdabai'.
白茶的风味特征源于其嫩叶的天然生化组成，这种微妙的平衡深受季节生长条件和茶树品种的影响。然而，目前尚未对中国西南部白茶收获季节对其生化和挥发性化合物的影响进行全面分析。本研究调查了“三华1951”春白茶（SH-S）、“三华1951”秋白茶（SH-A）、“福鼎大白”春白茶（FD-S）和“福鼎大白”秋白茶（FD-A）的感官特性、生化成分和挥发性化合物。结果表明，春茶的感官品质（外观、口感和香气）得分高于秋茶。春茶中的表没食子儿茶素、可溶性糖和氨基酸含量显著高于秋茶（<0.05），而秋茶中没食子儿茶素没食子酸酯、儿茶素、咖啡因和多酚的含量更高（<0.05），这些成分导致了不同收获季节样品间口感品质的差异。通过顶空固相微萃取-气相色谱-质谱分析，在四组中总共鉴定出90种挥发性化合物，春白茶中的挥发性化合物含量和种类比秋白茶更高。根据正交偏最小二乘法判别分析（OPLS-DA）模型，在SH-S与SH-A以及FD-S与FD-A中分别鉴定出52种和57种差异挥发性化合物（VIP>1，<0.05，倍数变化≥2或≤0.5），包括（）-氧化芳樟醇、（）-氧化芳樟醇、苯乙烯、苯乙醇、（）-柠檬醛等。气味活性值（OAV）结果表明，四组中确定了30种关键差异挥发性化合物（OAV>1），其中β-紫罗兰酮、5,6-环氧-β-紫罗兰酮、芳樟醇和（）-氧化芳樟醇的OAV特别高，对毫香和花香感官特征的贡献更大。值得注意的是，在每个品种中都鉴定出了（）-氧化芳樟醇、（）-茉莉酮和δ-杜松烯。这些发现表明它们作为季节标志物的潜力，为白茶“三华1951”和“福鼎大白”的开发铺平了道路。
