Analysis of biochemical components of tea variety resources in Datian, Fujian

【Objective】To explore the biochemical composition characteristics of tea varieties resources in Datian County,Fujian Province,so as to provide scientific basis for the development and utilization of tea variety resources and the breeding ofspecific tea varieties.【Method】Twenty-fourtea variety resources in Datian were used as test materials to determine the catechin components by HPLC,and the purine alkaloids and amino acid components by UHPLC-MS/MS to conduct descriptive analysis,principal component analysis,cluster thermogram analysis and specific resource screening.【Result】The contents of total catechins and EGCG3"Me in 24 tea variety resources were 60.00-251.75 and 2.92-22.90 mg/g respectively,and theirgenetic diversity indexes were 2.11 and 2.06; the contents of caffeine,theacrine and theanine were 3.69-68.71,0.29-48.59 and 0.28-39.52 mg/g,respectively,and their genetic diversity indexes were 1.98,1.99 and 1.96. The principal component analysis of the main quality components showed that the cumulative variance contribution rate of the first 3 principal components exceeded 80.00%. Considering 30 biochemical components based on catechins,purine alkaloids and amino acids 24 tea variety resources could be divided into 3 groups:Group A had higher contents of amino acids;group B had lower contents of biochemical components;and group C had higher contents of catechins and purine alkaloids. Significant differences existed in the main indexes of EGCG,EGCG3"Me,caffeine,theacrine and theanine among different groups. According to comprehensive analysis results,16 catechin component specific resources(10 high catechins,5 high EGCG,1 high EGCG3"Me),23 purine alkaloid component specific resources(9 high purine alkaloids,13 high theacrine,1 high caffeine) and 6 high theanine tea resources were screened.【Conclusion】Tea variety resources in Datian contain EGCG3"Me and theacrine. Catechins,purine alkaloids and amino acid components have rich genetic diversity. Through systematic identification and evaluation,a number of biochemical components specific resources were screened,which could be used as breeding materials of tea plant specific traits.