Journal of Tea Science

Prevention of Tea Polyphenols on Atherosclerosis and Relative Mechanisms

ZHANG Shuping, WANG Yuefei, XU Ping

Journal of Tea Science. 2019, 39(3): 231-246. doi:10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2019.03.001

Abstract ( 1193 )

PDF (749KB) ( 652 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics | Cite this Article

Atherosclerosis is the pathological basis of many cardiovascular diseases. Its injury to the cardiovascular could cause damage to other organs. Numerous data had indicated that tea polyphenols have a good preventive effect on atherosclerosis, such as anti-inflammatory, regulating blood lipid levels, inhibiting LDL oxidation, improving endothelial function and maintaining the stability of atherosclerotic plaque. The aim of this article is to review the health benefits of tea polyphenols against atherosclerosis and to outline the molecular mechanisms of tea polyphenols in atherosclerosis prevention.

Proposal to Replace the Illegitimate Name of Tea Garden Weeds in China

WU Huiping, QI Meng, LI Yeyun, MA Huiqin, WU Xun

Journal of Tea Science. 2019, 39(3): 247-256. doi:10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2019.03.002

Abstract ( 820 )

PDF (505KB) ( 237 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics | Cite this Article

Checklist information of the published names of tea garden weeds in China was compiled based on relevant references published from 1959 to 2018 and field investigations. The published species names were confirmed based on checklist information. The illegitimate names were identified and revised by the methods of supplement, correction and replacement according to authentic and domestic identification literatures. The results show that there were 517 illegitimate names in these literatures, with 331 illegitimate names transferred to legitimate names after revision. Compare to previous reports, there were 170 new records of weed species of tea garden in China which belonged to 129 genera and 46 families. In this paper, with the addition of previous legitimate names, totally 412 tea garden weed species, 8 varieties were recorded, which belonged to 251 genera and 72 families in China. The top 10 tea garden weeds based on their reporting frequencies were Conyza canadensis, Imperata cylindricaa and Digitaria sanguinalis, etc. relevant references published from 1959 to 2018 and field investigations. The published species names were confirmed based on checklist information. The illegitimate names were identified and revised by the methods of supplement, correction and replacement according to authentic and domestic identification literatures. The results show that there were 517 illegitimate names in these literatures, with 331 illegitimate names transferred to legitimate names after revision. Compare to previous reports, there were 170 new records of weed species of tea garden in China which belonged to 129 genera and 46 families. In this paper, with the addition of previous legitimate names, totally 412 tea garden weed species, 8 varieties were recorded, which belonged to 251 genera and 72 families in China. The top 10 tea garden weeds based on their reporting frequencies were Conyza canadensis, Imperata cylindricaa and Digitaria sanguinalis, etc.

Cloning and Functional Analysis of CsLCYb and CsLCYe for Carotene Biosynthesis in Tea Plant (Camellia sinensis)

LIU Guanhua, YANG Mei, FU Jianyu,

Journal of Tea Science. 2019, 39(3): 257-266. doi:10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2019.03.003

Abstract ( 972 )

PDF (2098KB) ( 309 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics | Cite this Article

Carotene, participating in photosynthesis and protecting photosynthetic system, is one of the important pigments of tea leaves. Two key genes [lycopene β-cyclase gene (CsLCYb) and lycopene ε-cyclase gene (CsLCYe)] of carotene biosynthesis in tea plant were cloned from transcriptome. They are 1 515 bp and 1 524 bp in length, and encode 504 and 507 amino acid residues, respectively. Based on sequences alignment, CsLCYb and CsLCYe are highly conserved as compared with the homologous genes from other plants. Multiple-gene tandem expression indicated that CsLCYb can cyclize lycopene to β-carotene while CsLCYe was inactive. The enzymatic activities of the two genes were further confirmed by ELISA method in E. coli. It showed that CsLCYb was able to generate a large amount of carotene, which was significantly different from the negative control. However, no carotene was detected in the colonies with the expression plasmid of pAC-LYC-CsLCYe. The type and content of carotene in tea foliage were consistent with previous reports, which proved that carotene was mainly produced by the LCYb pathway in tea plant. The qRT-PCR analysis revealed that the expression level of CsLCYb in buds and different leaves of Zhonghuang 2 was positively correlated with the degree of chlorisis and the content of carotene. Furthermore, its relative expression in normal cultivar Longjing 43 and chlorisis cultivar Zhonghuang 2 also showed similar pattern. These findings confirmed that CsLCYb plays a key role in the carotene biosynthesis and leaf color changing in tea plant, which also provided an important genetic basis for uncovering the molecular mechanism of chlorisis in tea cultivars.

Identification and Expression Analysis of Calcium-dependent Protein Kinase CsCDPK17 in Tea Plant (Camellia sinensis)

LEI Lei, WANG Lu, YAO Lina, HAO Xinyuan, ZENG Jianming, DING Changqing, WANG Xinchao, YANG Yajun

Journal of Tea Science. 2019, 39(3): 267-279. doi:10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2019.03.004

Abstract ( 788 )

PDF (2055KB) ( 510 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics | Cite this Article

Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs or CPKs) are important calcium sensors in higher plants, which are extensively involved in plant development and stress responding. In this study, one sequence that contained a complete ORF of 1 611 bp encoding a 568 amino acids protein was cloned from Camellia sinensis cv. Longjing 43. Sequence alignments revealed that this protein was a typical plant CDPK possesses N-terminus myristoylation site and protein kinases domain and showed the highest similarity with Arabidopsis AtCDPK17. Thus, the gene was defined as CsCDPK17 base on further phylogenetic analysis (Genbank accession No. MK238482). Basic protein character analysis shows that CsCDPK17 was a hydrophilic membrane-binding protein with molecularweight of 59.9 kD and PI of 5.43. Further subcellular localization assay using transient CsCDPK17-GFP expression in rice protoplasts and tobacco leaves proved that CsCDPK17 was localized in plasma membrane and nucleus. A series of gene transcription, light and hormone (such as ABA, SA, MeJA, etc) responding related cis-elements were detected in CsCDPK17 2 000 bp promoter regions. Tissue-specific expression analysis found that high expressions of CsCDPK17 were in the mature leaves and seeds, while the lowest transcription in roots. The transcription of CsCDPK17 was increased during cold acclimation and decreased during de-acclimation procedures in four cultivars with different cold resistance abilities. Moreover, stress induced expression indicated that CsCDPK17 could be induced by cold, drought and osmotic stresses with the highest induction levels of 5.1, 2.3 and 2.4 folds, respectively. Overall, our results suggest that the newly cloned CsCDPK17 might be involve in the regulation of both development and abiotic stress responses (such as cold, drought and osmotic stress) in tea plants.

Molecular Cloning and Expression Analysis of CsLHTs Gene Subfamily in Tea Plants (Camellia sinensis)

GUO Lingling, ZHANG Fen, ZHANG Yazhen, CHENG Hao, WEI Kang, RUAN Li, WU Liyun, WANG Liyuan

Journal of Tea Science. 2019, 39(3): 280-288. doi:10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2019.03.005

Abstract ( 805 )

PDF (477KB) ( 213 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics | Cite this Article

Amino acids are important quality components and forms of nitrogen storage in tea plants (Camellia sinensis). Therefore, it is of great significance to study the function of amino acid transporters. In present study, five LHTs (Lysine histidine transporters, CsLHTs) were found from transcriptomes of tea plants. Among them, four CsLHTs were successfully cloned from the cultivar ‘Longjing 43’ by RT-PCR, and named CsLHT1, CsLHT6, CsLHT8.1 and CsLHT8.2, respectively. The prediction results from amino acid sequences showed that each of CsLHT contained 9-11 transmembrane domains and one domain of amino acid transporter. To investigate the expression patterns of these CsLHT genes under different nitrogen levels, cutting seedlings of three tea cultivars were fed with NH₄NO₃ of three levels (0.2 mmolL^-1, 2 mmolL^-1 and 10 mmolL^-1) after two weeks of nitrogen starvation. The qRT-PCR results showed that four CsLHTs were expressed in all vegetative tissues, and exhibited diverse expression patterns. For the genes of CsLHT1, CsLHT6 and CsLHT8.2, the gene expression were affected more highly by tea cultivars rather than by nitrogen levels. However, the gene expression of CsLHT8.1 changed greatly by nitrogen treatments. Especially, after 72 h treatments of 0.2 mmolL^-1 and 10 mmolL^-1 NH₄NO₃, the CsLHT8.1 expressions were significantly up-regulated in the root of ‘Zhongcha 302’, which was identified as a high nitrogen efficient cultivar. These results implied that CsLHT8.1 might participate in the transport of amino acids from root to aerial parts in tea plants.

Research on the Preparation of Tea Soup for Sensory Evaluation of Hunan Dark Tea

LUO Yuan, LI Shi, HUANG Jian′an, XIAO Lizheng, OU Xingchang, AN Huimin

Journal of Tea Science. 2019, 39(3): 289-296. doi:10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2019.03.006

Abstract ( 759 )

PDF (798KB) ( 308 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics | Cite this Article

Using one-time brewing method, the dynamic changes of water extracts and major biochemical components in different types of Hunan dark teas were studied. The aroma, liquor color, taste and infused leaves were compared according to the Chinese national standard. The results show that the amino acids, polyphenols and total water extraction could be extracted effectively by the one-time brewing method (the ratio of tea to water was 1∶50, 8 min with 100℃ water), especially for the compact type of Hunan black tea. The tea soup is also acceptable for sensory evaluation. So here we provided a convenient method for brewing Hunan dark tea.

Study on the Changes of Primary Metabolites During the Manufacturing Process of Roasted Green Tea by Pre-column Derivatization Combining with GC-MS

CHEN Mei, DAI Weidong, LI Pengliang, ZHU Yin, CHEN Qincao, YANG Yanqin, TAN Junfeng, LIN Zhi

Journal of Tea Science. 2019, 39(3): 297-308. doi:10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2019.03.007

Abstract ( 783 )

PDF (462KB) ( 415 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics | Cite this Article

Few if any previous studies were carried out in the field of primary metabolite changes during the manufacturing process of roasted green tea. Longjing 43 was used to make roasted green tea and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with derivatization was used to determine the components. A total of 60 compounds were identified, which included high levels of organic acids, carbohydrates and carbohydrate derivatives. Each steps of the processing could be successfully distinguished by partial least-squares discriminant analysis based on 26 key compounds. The results of cluster analysis indicated that the content changes of the 26 compounds could be classified into three categories: high-low: 2-ketoglutaric acid, arabinose, gallic acid, glucopyranosiduronic acid, glyceryl-glucoside, ribose, galactose, fructose, glucose, phosphoric acid, 4-ketoglucose, ribono-1,4-lactone, and mannitol. High-low-high: homogentisic acid, sucrose, galactinol, threonic acid, turanose, ribonic acid, inositol and citric acid. Low-high-low: erythrose-1,4-lactone, oxypropyl phosphate, pyroglutamic acid, quinic acid and hexanedioic acid. Organic acids mainly showed a rising and then downward trend. Carbohydrates except sucrose showed a downward trend.

Study on the Quality of Five Huangjincha Related Cultivars

CHEN Yuhong, HUANG Feiyi, LEI Yu, DUAN Jihua, DING Ding, KANG Yanka, LUO Yi, LIU Panpan, LI Saijun, GONG Ziming

Journal of Tea Science. 2019, 39(3): 309-317. doi:10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2019.03.008

Abstract ( 1665 )

PDF (404KB) ( 357 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics | Cite this Article

The variations of main biochemical components and green tea qualities of five cultivars including Huangjincha population cultivar, Baojing Huangjincha 1, Huangjincha 2, Huangjincha 8 and Huangjincha 168 were studied by physical and chemical inspection and sensory testing. The results showed that tea samples of all cultivars contained abundant quantities of water extract, tea polyphenol, amino acids, caffeine and catechins ranging from 36.42% to 40.17%, 20.79% to 29.89%, 3.03% to 6.31%, 3.82% to 4.57%, and 8.31% to 14.90%. A total of 47, 30, 40, 43 and 46 aroma constituents were identified in the Huangjincha population cultivar, Baojing Huangjincha 1, Huangjincha 2, Huangjincha 8 and Huangjincha 168, respectively, which included 18 common components with the major aroma compound alcohols. The results of the sensory evaluation showed that five cultivars such as Huangjincha population cultivar are suitable for the production of excellent green tea.

Effects of Four Intercropping Crops on the Occurrence of Major Leaf Diseases in Tea Plantations in Summer and Autumn

ZHANG Hong, ZHANG Mengting, WANG Fukai, REN Mengxing, QING You, KANG Xiaohui

Journal of Tea Science. 2019, 39(3): 318-324. doi:10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2019.03.009

Abstract ( 810 )

PDF (576KB) ( 194 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics | Cite this Article

In order to find a suitable intercropping model for alpine tea plantations and explore the effects of different intercropping crops on the occurrence of major leaf diseases in tea plantations, field experiments were performed to identify the main types of leaf diseases in tea plantations in northwest Sichuan. Through the investigation and study of the disease occurrence in tea-soybean, tea-maize, tea-plum, tea-Magnolia officinalis intercropping gardens and pure tea garden, the leaf disease occurrences in different tea gardens were compared and analyzed. The results show that the main diseases of tea plantations in northwest Sichuan were tea blister blight, tea anthracnose, tea brown blight, tea bird’s eye spot and tea red leaf spot. Among the four intercropped crops, soybean and maize were the ideal intercropped crops. The lowest incidences of tea blister blight and tea anthracnose were found in the tea-soybean intercropping system. Compared with the control, the incidences of tea blister blight and tea anthracnose decreased by 85.12% and 74.34%, respectively. The incidence of anthracnose in tea-maize intercropping system was reduced by 49.76% compared with the control. However, the average incidence of tea blister blight and anthracnose in tea-Magnolia officinalis intercropping garden were 27.82% and 51.67%, which were 10.50 and 1.73 times higher than those in the pure tea garden. The soybean and the maize could replace Magnolia officinalis as an ideal intercropping crop in alpine tea garden. Intercropping soybean could significantly reduce the occurrence of diseases and thereby losses.

Analysis of the Chloroplast Proteome Difference of ‘Baiye 1’ [Camellia sinensis (L.) O Kuntze] during Periodic Albinism

LI Qin, CHENG Xiaomei, LI Yongdi, YANG Peid, HUANG Jian'an, LIU Zhonghua

Journal of Tea Science. 2019, 39(3): 325-334. doi:10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2019.03.010

Abstract ( 708 )

PDF (1301KB) ( 474 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics | Cite this Article

‘Baiye 1’ is a kind of temperature sensitive tea cultivar. The change of chloroplast is the key factor for the periodic albinism of ‘Baiye 1’. To understand the mechanism of periodic albinism of ‘Baiye 1’, two dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and mass spectrometry was adopted to separate and identify the chloroplast proteins, which were significantly changed during the three developmental periods. The results show that 726, 748 and 718 protein spots were separated at the pre-albinistic, albinistic and regreen stages, respectively. The expression levels of 59 protein spots varied markedly during the three development stages. A total of 22 protein spots were successfully identified by MS, which were involved in photosynthesis, stress response, metabolism of nucleic acid, substance metabolism and unknown function. Photosynthetic proteins were the most affected proteins, which account for 31.82% in the significantly changed proteins. These results indicate that these physiological processes might play crucial roles in the periodic albinism. The gene expression profiles of the differentially expressed proteins were also verified by real-time PCR analysis. The results show that the expressions of genes and proteins were not consistent, which might be related to the protein processing and post-modification. These results provide a theoretical basis for understanding the molecular mechanism of periodic albinism in ‘Baiye 1’.

Effects of Exogenous Nitric Oxide on Physiological Characteristics of Tea Plants Under Cold Stress

WANG Yingzi, LI Yinhua, CHEN Jinhua, LIU Zhonghua, HUANG Jian'an

Journal of Tea Science. 2019, 39(3): 335-341. doi:10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2019.03.011

Abstract ( 796 )

PDF (647KB) ( 375 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics | Cite this Article

In order to investigate the alleviation effect of exogenous nitric oxide (NO) donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) on tea rooted cuttings under cold stress, artificial climate chamber was used to simulate cold stress on tea rooted cuttings. The effects of SNP on membrane lipid peroxidation, osmotic adjustment substance and antioxidant activity of biennial ‘Bixiangzao’ rooted cuttings under cold stress were studied by foliar spray of SNP. The results show that suitable SNP concentration treatment could reduce the relative conductivity of tea leaves, inhibit the elevated malondialdehyde content, promote the accumulation of proline, soluble protein and sugar, and increase the superoxide dismutase, catalase activities, thereby alleviate the damage of cold stress on tea leaves. In addition, the optimal concentration of SNP was 200 μmol?L^-1.

Effect of Withering and Fermentation Duration on Aroma and Qualities in Guangdong Danxia Black Tea

WANG Qiushuang, LING Caijin, QIAO Xiaoyan, CHEN Dong, CAO Junxi, WU Hualing

Journal of Tea Science. 2019, 39(3): 342-354. doi:10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2019.03.012

Abstract ( 750 )

PDF (498KB) ( 355 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics | Cite this Article

To identify the optimal parameters for processing Guangdong Danxia 2 black tea, Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction (SPME) combined with GC-MS (HS-SPME/GC-MS) and HPLC, etc. methods were used to analyze the effects of withering and fermentation duration on the aroma and quality of black teas. The results show that with the increase of withering time, the contents of alcohols increased significantly, which induced the release of flowery and fruit like aroma. The aldehydes decreased and the grass like aroma weakened. The contents of tea polyphenols and catechins decreased significantly after withering for 33 h. The water extracts increased and the total amino acids decreased. The results show that black tea had the best index and sensory qualities when withering for 33 h. With the increase of fermentation duration, the contents of alcohols showed the tendency of decreasing-no changes-decreasing significantly. The changes of esters were not obvious. The acids increased when fermentation duration increased. Amino acids decreased significantly after 12 h fermentation. The contents of tea polyphenols and water extracts also decreased, but showed significant difference after 12 h. The research concluded that the best fermentation duration was 12 h for Danxia 2 black tea, with the best quality and sensory test result. The black tea had sour taste when fermented for more than 12 h.

Effects of Shading on Microbial Characteristics and Enzyme Activities in Matcha Tea Garden Soil

WANG Guofu, SUN Xiaohong, FANG Yi, ZHOU Jin, SHEN Qianting, XIANG Junlei, JIN Xianling, LUO Xingyun

Journal of Tea Science. 2019, 39(3): 355-363. doi:10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2019.03.013

Abstract ( 770 )

PDF (603KB) ( 338 )

References | Related Articles | Metrics | Cite this Article

The effects of shading on soil microorganism characteristics, soil nutrient and enzyme activity changes in matcha tea garden of Zhejiang province were analyzed. The results show that shading could significantly increase the contents of organic matter, total nitrogen, hydrolyzed nitrogen, total phosphorus, available phosphorus and available potassium in soil layer of 0-20 cm. In addition, the organic matter in the soil of shading tea garden reached 49.81 g?kg-1, which was significantly higher than that of the control (32.50 g?kg-1, P<0.05). Shading treatment could significantly improve the activities of urease, invertase, soil protease, acidic phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase in soil (P<0.05). The microorganism related indexes such as bacteria and fungi Shannon-wiener diversity indexes (H) and Richness in shading tea garden were also higher than those without shading treatment. Shading on matcha tea garden could increase the number and activities of soil microorganisms, and upgrade soil enzyme activities which were related to soil nutrient. This would enhance soil quality and facilitate the restoration or rebuilding of the damaged soil ecosystem in tea garden.

Table of Content