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Journal of Tea Science ›› 2022, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (5): 705-716.doi: 10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2022.05.005

• Research Paper • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Analysis of the Saponin Contents and Composition in Tea Seeds of Different Germplasms

CHEN Yuhong1,2, GAO Ying1,*, HAN Zhen3, YIN Junfeng1,*   

  1. 1. Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310008, China;
    2. Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China;
    3. General Agricultural Extension Station of Ningbo City, Ningbo 315012, China
  • Received:2022-04-25 Revised:2022-05-13 Online:2022-10-15 Published:2022-10-28

Abstract: Tea saponins are abundant in the seeds of Camellia sinensis with specific biological activities. Their contents and composition in tea seeds of different germplasms remain unclear. In this study, seeds from 21 tea germplasms were collected from the same region of Zhejiang and used as experimental materials to determine the basic characteristics, saponin contents and composition. Correlation analysis between germplasm and saponin composition was also performed. The results show that the seed weight, shell kernel ratio and saponin content of different tea seeds were significantly different (P<0.05). The saponin content detected by UV spectral method and HPLC ranged from 30.82% to 48.16% and 16.93% to 31.82%, respectively. ‘Huangguanyin' had the highest saponin content in tea seeds. Totally 68 tea seed saponin monomers were detected simultaneously using ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole orbitrap mass spectrometer(UHPLC-Q-Exactive/MS). Theasaponin E1 had the highest relative intensity. Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) shows that the 21 tea seed germplasms can be distinguished into 2 groups according to tree type with 21 different Camelliasaponin B1/B2, Theasaponin A5/A6, Camelliasaponin C1/C2 and Assamsaponin G were the most significant characteristic substances of semi-tree form and arbor form resources. The results of the study laid the foundation for the selection and value-added utilization of tea seed saponins.

Key words: tea seed, saponin, monomer, UHPLC-Q-Exactive/MS

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