Insights into major pigment accumulation and (non)enzymatic degradations and conjugations to characterized flavors during intelligent black tea processing

Yongcheng Zhang; Kangni Yan; Qunhua Peng; Shan Feng; Zhangfeng Zhao; Long Chen; Lin Ye; Jianyu Fu; Haipeng Lv; Dan Mu; Chunwang Dong; Zhi Lin; Yan Wu; Jiang Shi

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.137860

Insights into major pigment accumulation and (non)enzymatic degradations and conjugations to characterized flavors during intelligent black tea processing

Food Chem. 2023 Oct 27;437(Pt 1):137860. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.137860. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yongcheng Zhang¹, Kangni Yan¹, Qunhua Peng², Shan Feng³, Zhangfeng Zhao⁴, Long Chen⁵, Lin Ye⁶, Jianyu Fu², Haipeng Lv², Dan Mu⁷, Chunwang Dong⁸, Zhi Lin⁹, Yan Wu¹⁰, Jiang Shi¹¹

Affiliations

¹ The Province Key Laboratory of the Biodiversity Study and Ecology Conservation in Southwest Anhui, Schoolof Life Sciences, Anqing Normal University, Anqing 246133, Anhui, China; Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resource Utilization of Ministry of Agriculture, Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310008, China.
² Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resource Utilization of Ministry of Agriculture, Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310008, China.
³ Mass Spectrometry & Metabolomics Core Facility, The Biomedical Research Core Facility, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310024, China.
⁴ College of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310023, China.
⁵ Fuliang Tea Development (Group) Co., Ltd, Fuliang 333400, China.
⁶ Fuliang County Tea Industry Development Center, Fuliang 333400, China.
⁷ The Province Key Laboratory of the Biodiversity Study and Ecology Conservation in Southwest Anhui, Schoolof Life Sciences, Anqing Normal University, Anqing 246133, Anhui, China.
⁸ Tea Research Institute of Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan 250100, China.
⁹ Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resource Utilization of Ministry of Agriculture, Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310008, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
¹⁰ The Province Key Laboratory of the Biodiversity Study and Ecology Conservation in Southwest Anhui, Schoolof Life Sciences, Anqing Normal University, Anqing 246133, Anhui, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
¹¹ Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resource Utilization of Ministry of Agriculture, Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310008, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 39491256
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.137860

Abstract

Intelligently processed black teas (BT) possess premium quality but there is a lack in comprehensive understanding of flavor formation mechanism. In this study, the accumulation of carotenoids, flavonoids, and Maillard products and (non)enzymatic degradations and conjugations to characterized flavors were comprehensively studied. Significant decrease was observed that flava-3-ols were heavily oxidised from > 240 mg·g^-1 in fresh leaves (FL) to < 30 mg·g^-1, while other 21 flavonoids decreased by < 30% in BT, accompanied by a sweet aftertaste. Carotenes and xanthophylls, significantly accumulated during withering compared to FL (from 641 ± 39.7 μg·g^-1 to 728 ± 44.9 μg·g^-1) but decreased in BT. Strong correlations were confirmed between the 218 primary metabolites, carotenoids, and flavonoids, and their contributions to BT sweet tastes were elucidated. Furthermore, 45 floral/sweet volatiles with VIP > 1 originating from carotenoids, lipids, and amino acids were screened. An integrated illustration of pigments thermal- and enzymatic-dominated contributions to BT flavour was comprehensively conducted.

Keywords: Carotenoids; Flavor; Intelligently processed black tea; Maillard products; Pigments.