Profiling of Saponins in &#x02018;Longjing 43&#x02019; Tea Seeds by Molecular Networking

GUO Liang; CHANG Ya; KONG Yashuai; GAO Ying; LING Tiejun

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Journal of Tea Science ›› 2026, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (3) : 545-556.

Research Paper

Profiling of Saponins in ‘Longjing 43’ Tea Seeds by Molecular Networking

GUO Liang^1,2, CHANG Ya¹, KONG Yashuai¹, GAO Ying^2,*, LING Tiejun¹

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Abstract

Theasaponins are a class of oleanane-type triterpenoid saponins enriched in seeds of Theaceae plants. The high structural diversity but tiny structural differences among theasaponins are challenging analysis, isolation and structural identification of them, making it difficult for the industry to efficiently characterize the saponin profiles in tea seeds. In this study, using seeds from tea cultivar ‘Longjing 43’ as experimental material, ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole-orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometer (UPLC/ESI-Q-Orbitrap MS), molecular networking, and in silico mass spectrometral data processing were employed. A total of 7 and 26 theasaponins were detected in positive and negative ion modes, respectively. The triterpenoids detected in the positive ion mode were mainly triterpenoid aglycones and their organic acid esters, whereas those detected in the negative ion mode were primarily typical teasaponins characterized by structures containing triterpene aglycones, glycosyl groups and organic acids. The combination of these techniques significantly enhanced the efficiency of theasaponin analysis and the ionization mode of mass spectrometer exhibited a bias in the detection of teasaponins. This study provided a new technical way and perspective for qualitative and quantitative research on theasaponins.

Key words

theasaponins / ionization mode / UPLC-HRMS / molecular networking

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GUO Liang, CHANG Ya, KONG Yashuai, GAO Ying, LING Tiejun. Profiling of Saponins in ‘Longjing 43’ Tea Seeds by Molecular Networking[J]. Journal of Tea Science. 2026, 46(3): 545-556

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