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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Quality Differences of Longnan Green Tea Based on Physicochemical Parameters and Volatile Organic Compound Profile
1
College of Life Science, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, 730070, China
2
Wudu Tea Technology Guidance Station, Longnan, 746000, China
Submission date: 2025-01-14
Acceptance date: 2025-08-05
KEYWORDS
aroma compoundsCamellia sinensisgreen tea qualityion mobility spectrometrypartial least squares-discriminant analysisprincipal component analysis
TOPICS
SpectrometryOther techniquesGas chromatographyLiquid chromatographyFood bioactivesHerbs and spicesFlavours/AromasPhenolic compounds
ABSTRACT
This study systematically analyzed the chemical composition and profile of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of green tea samples from three counties (Wenxian, Wudu, and Kangxian) in Longnan, Gansu Province of China, to elucidate their quality differentiation. Principal component analysis (PCA) of 14 physicochemical parameters extracted five principal components accounting for 82.25% of the total variance, indicating that most of the variance within the data set could be explained. Significant differences were found in contents of glutamic acid, tea polysaccharides, water extract, caffeine and free amino acids among the three production areas. Seventy-two VOCs were identified using headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS), and the VOCs were predominantly comprised of aldehydes, ketones, and alcohols. Wenxian green tea contained higher proportions of alcohols and aldehydes, Wudu green tea was rich in terpenes, and Kangxian green tea demonstrated a higher ketone content. Orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) effectively discriminated tea origins with robust model parameters (R²Y=0.937, R²X=0.719, Q²=0.71) and identified 52 key VOCs with variable importance in projection (VIP) >1 and p<0.05 as potential geographical markers for differentiating Longnan green teas from different production areas. These findings establish a quality evaluation framework for Longnan green tea while providing technical support for geographical indication protection and targeted development of characteristic regional tea products.
FUNDING
This work was supported by the Gansu Province Characteristic Advantageous Agricultural Products Evaluation (TYNPZ2022-07), the Key Research and Development Project of Gansu Province (22YF7NA121), and the Central Government Guides Local Science and Technology Development Project of Shandong Province (YDZX2024036).
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to influence the work reported in this paper.
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