芋头作为一种重要的粮菜兼用作物，其地下球茎含有丰富的生物活性物质。本研究旨在探索芋头哪些活性物质参与影响其食用价值，以期为芋头品质改良提供参考。本研究以红芽芋和香芋为试材，利用液质联用方法测定代谢物成分，结合农艺学性状变化，阐明影响其活性物质的关键代谢通路。相对于香芋，红芽芋的Vc含量增加13.0%，SOD和CAT分别增加63.8%和43.2%。通过代谢组学分析鉴定到244种差异代谢物，包括192种上调代谢物和52种下调代谢物。KEGG分析表明，次生代谢产物的生物合成、ABC转运蛋白、氨基酸的生物合成等途径显著富集。其中，丰度上调幅度最大的代谢物包含异鼠李素-3-O-新橙皮糖苷等9种黄酮。本研究强调这9种黄酮物质对于提高红芽芋品质具有重要作用，也为进一步开发芋头产品提供了理论基础。

The characteristic secondary metabolites in tea (theanine, caffeine, and catechins) are important factors contributing to unique tea flavors. However, there has been relatively little research on molecular markers related to these metabolites. Thus, we conducted a genome-wide association analysis of the levels of these tea flavor-related metabolites in three seasons. The theanine, caffeine, and catechin levels in Population 1 comprising 191 tea plant germplasms were examined, which revealed that their heritability exceeded 0.5 in the analyzed seasons, with the following rank order (highest to lowest heritabilities): (+)-catechin > (-)-gallocatechin gallate > caffeine = (-)-epicatechin > (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate > theanine > (-)-epigallocatechin > (-)-epicatechin-3-gallate > catechin gallate > (+)-gallocatechin. The SNPs detected by amplified-fragment SNP and methylation sequencing divided Population 1 into three groups and seven subgroups. An association analysis yielded 307 SNP markers related to theanine, caffeine, and catechins that were common to all three seasons. Some of the markers were pleiotropic. The functional annotation of 180 key genes at the SNP loci revealed that FLS, UGT, MYB, and WD40 domain-containing proteins, as well as ATP-binding cassette transporters, may be important for catechin synthesis. KEGG and GO analyses indicated that these genes are associated with metabolic pathways and secondary metabolite biosynthesis. Moreover, in Population 2 (98 tea plant germplasm resources), 30 candidate SNPs were verified, including 17 SNPs that were significantly or extremely significantly associated with specific metabolite levels. These results will provide a foundation for future research on important flavor-related metabolites and may help accelerate the breeding of new tea varieties.

As a vital reproductive organ, flowers significantly influence the yield, sensory quality, and breeding efficacy of Camellia sinensis. Many biological characteristics of tea plants are influenced by metabolites; however, our knowledge of metabolites in tea flowers is limited. To investigate the physiological basis and molecular mechanisms underlying tea flower metabolism, we integrated metabolomics and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to analyze the metabolites present in the flowers of 171 tea genotypes. Untargeted metabolomic analysis detected 581 and 295 metabolites in positive and negative ionization modes, respectively. Twenty-seven distinct metabolites were observed between C. sinensis var. assamica (CSA) and C. sinensis var. sinensis (CSS). GWAS identified 1238 quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with 505 metabolites. Some structurally related metabolites tended to share common QTL. Integrating GWAS findings with secondary mass spectrometry (MS/MS) fragmentation and haplotype analysis for metabolites (-)-epigallocatechin-3-(3"-O-methyl) gallate (EGCG-3''-O-ME), (-)-Epicatechin-3-(3''-O-methyl) gallate (ECG-3''-O-ME), Pos_1118, and Neg_365 (p-coumaroylquinic acid) resulted in the identification of three candidate genes (W07g015551, W08g018636, and W01g002625). Taken together, our findings provide a foundation for exploring comprehensive metabolic pathways in various tissues of C. sinensis.

As one of the most popular beverages globally, tea has enormous economic, cultural, and medicinal importance that necessitates a comprehensive metabolomics study of this species. In this study, a large-scale targeted metabolomics analysis on two types of leaf tissues of nine tea cultivars from five representative geographical origins within China was carried out using the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry technique. RNA-seq-based transcriptomic analysis was in parallel conducted on the same samples, and gene expression and metabolic differentiation between tissues as well as between the multiple tea cultivars were investigated. The data obtained provide an accessible resource for further studies of naturally occurring metabolic variation of tea plants, which will aid in thoroughly interpreting the underlying genetic and molecular mechanisms of biosynthesis of specialized metabolites in this critical species. Candidate genes including a transcription factor (CsMYB5-like), which were highly correlated with both the content of flavonoids and the expression level of genes participating in the phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis pathway, were identified as potential targets for quality improvement of tea.

Protein-metabolite interactions play important roles in many cellular and physiological processes in biological systems. However, the lack of effective research approaches impedes the understanding of the protein-metabolite interactions. In this study, a novel comprehensive strategy by combining metabolomics platform with native mass spectrometry was developed for investigating the protein-metabolite interactions. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors gamma (PPARγ) is a lipid-binding nuclear receptors that plays a key role in regulating fatty-acid oxidation and lipid metabolism, which was selected as the model protein. Seven metabolites including lyso-phosphatidylcholine (LPC) 16:0, LPC18:0, LPC18:1, arachidonic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid and palmitoleic acid (p < 0.05) were found to have the possible interactions with the PPARγ, these LPCs were discovered as candidate ligands for the first time by using untargeted metabolomics method. Native mass spectrometry based on 15 T Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer was employed to directly detect the PPARγ-LPCs complexes to obtain their stoichiometry and kinetic constants. Isothermal titration calorimetry, circular dichroism spectrum and molecular modeling were further utilized to investigate the thermodynamics, conformation and binding mechanism of the interaction between PPARγ and LPCs. It was found that the PPARγ-LPC interaction was an endothermic process, and these LPCs have similar binding constants with stoichiometric number of 1:1. The novel strategy can provide a very useful approach for mapping and identifying unknown protein-metabolite interactions in biological systems.Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Wild teas are valuable genetic resources for studying domestication and breeding. Here we report the assembly of a high-quality chromosome-scale reference genome for an ancient tea tree. The further RNA sequencing of 217 diverse tea accessions clarifies the pedigree of tea cultivars and reveals key contributors in the breeding of Chinese tea. Candidate genes associated with flavonoid biosynthesis are identified by genome-wide association study. Specifically, diverse allelic function of CsANR, CsF3'5'H and CsMYB5 is verified by transient overexpression and enzymatic assays, providing comprehensive insights into the biosynthesis of catechins, the most important bioactive compounds in tea plants. The inconspicuous differentiation between ancient trees and cultivars at both genetic and metabolic levels implies that tea may not have undergone long-term artificial directional selection in terms of flavor-related metabolites. These genomic resources provide evolutionary insight into tea plants and lay the foundation for better understanding the biosynthesis of beneficial natural compounds.

Plants synthesize specialized metabolites to facilitate environmental and ecological interactions. During evolution, plants diversified in their potential to synthesize these metabolites. Quantitative differences in metabolite levels of natural Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) accessions can be employed to unravel the genetic basis for metabolic traits using genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Here, we performed metabolic GWAS on seeds of a panel of 315 A. thaliana natural accessions, including the reference genotypes C24 and Col-0, for polar and semi-polar seed metabolites using untargeted ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. As a complementary approach, we performed quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping of near-isogenic introgression lines between C24 and Col-0 for specific seed specialized metabolites. Besides common QTL between seeds and leaves, GWAS revealed seed-specific QTL for specialized metabolites, indicating differences in the genetic architecture of seeds and leaves. In seeds, aliphatic methylsulfinylalkyl and methylthioalkyl glucosinolates associated with the ALKENYL HYDROXYALKYL PRODUCING loci (GS-ALK and GS-OHP) on chromosome 4 containing alkenyl hydroxyalkyl producing 2 (AOP2) and 3 (AOP3) or with the GS-ELONG locus on chromosome 5 containing methylthioalkyl malate synthase (MAM1) and MAM3. We detected two unknown sulfur-containing compounds that were also mapped to these loci. In GWAS, some of the annotated flavonoids (kaempferol 3-O-rhamnoside-7-O-rhamnoside, quercetin 3-O-rhamnoside-7-O-rhamnoside) were mapped to transparent testa 7 (AT5G07990), encoding a cytochrome P450 75B1 monooxygenase. Three additional mass signals corresponding to quercetin-containing flavonols were mapped to UGT78D2 (AT5G17050). The association of the loci and associating metabolic features were functionally verified in knockdown mutant lines. By performing GWAS and QTL mapping, we were able to leverage variation of natural populations and parental lines to study seed specialized metabolism. The GWAS data set generated here is a high-quality resource that can be investigated in further studies.

Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based metabolomics has been facilitated by the construction of MS(2) spectral tag (MS2T) library from the total scan ESI MS/MS data, and the development of widely targeted metabolomics method using MS/MS data gathered from authentic standards. In this report, a novel strategy called stepwise multiple ion monitoring-enhanced product ions (stepwise MIM-EPI) was developed to construct the MS2T library, in which stepwise MIM was used as survey scans to trigger the acquisition of EPI. A total number of 698 (almost) non-redundant metabolites with MS(2) spectra were obtained, of which 135 metabolites were identified/annotated. Integrating the data gathered from our MS2T library and other available multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) information, a widely targeted metabolomics method was developed to quantify 277 metabolites, including some phytohormones. Evaluation of the dehydration responses and natural variations of these metabolites in rice leaf not only suggested the coordinated regulation of abscisic acid (ABA) with metabolites such as serotonin derivative(s), polyamine conjugates under drought stress, but also revealed some C-glycosylated flavones as the potential markers for the discrimination of indica and japonica rice subspecies. The new MS2T library construction and widely targeted metabolomics strategy could be used as a tool for rice functional genomics.

Mulberroside A is a polyhydroxylated stilbene active component of Morus alba L. Studies have shown that it has antitussive, antiasthmatic, tyrosinase and antioxidation activities. However, little is known about the metabolism of it in vitro and in vivo. In our study, an integrated strategy on the basis of UHPLC-Q-Exactive Plus Orbitrap MS and network pharmacology was established to comprehensively research the metabolic characteristic of mulberroside A for the first time. Plasma, urine, feces and liver tissues of rats in the blank group and drug group were collected after intragastric administration of mulberroside A at a dose of 150 mg/kg, and rat liver microsomes were cultured for in vitro metabolism experiment. The biological samples were processed by different methods and analyzed in positive and negative ion modes using UHPLC-Q-Exactive Plus Orbitrap MS. A total of 72 metabolites were finally identified based on the accurate molecular mass, retention time, MS/MS spectra and related literatures combined with the Compound Discoverer 3.1. The metabolic pathways were mainly hydrolysis, glucuronidation, hydrogenation, sulfation, hydroxylation, methylation and their composite reactions. In addition, a network pharmacology method was used to predict the mechanism of action of mulberroside A and its metabolites. In the end, 7 metabolites with high gastrointestinal absorption and drug-likeness and 167 targets were screened by Swiss ADME and Swiss Target Prediction. 1702 items of GO analysis and 158 related signaling pathways of KEGG were enriched using Metascape. This study established a novel integrated strategy based on UHPLC-Q-Exactive Plus Orbitrap MS and network pharmacology, which could systematically analyze the metabolism behavior of mulberroside A in vivo and in vitro of rats and provide basis for the further research of mulberroside A.

Three subtypes of white tea, Silver Needle (SN), White Peony (WP), and Shou Mei (SM), differ in their taste, aroma, bioactivity, and commercial value. Here, a metabolomics investigation on the chemical compositions combining taste equivalent-quantification and dose-over-threshold (DoT) determination on the taste qualities were applied to comprehensively characterize the white tea subtypes for the first time. Significant differences in the contents of catechins, dimeric catechins, amino acids, phenolic acids, flavonol/flavone glycosides, and aroma precursors were observed among these 3 white teas. Metabolite content comparison and partial least-squares (PLS) analysis suggest that theanine, aspartic acid, asparagine, and AMP were positively correlated with the umami taste in white tea, and flavan-3-ols, theasinensins, procyanidin B3, and theobromine had positive correlations with higher bitterness and astringency tastes. In addition, puckering astringent (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), (-)-epicatechin gallate (ECG) and theogallin, bitter-tasting caffeine, and the mouth-drying/velvety-like astringent γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) were identified as key taste compounds of white tea infusion by absolute quantification and DoT factor calculations. This work provided systematic and comprehensive knowledge on the chemical components, taste qualities, and sensory active metabolites for the subtypes of white tea.Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The amount of pubescence on leaf epidermis is an important morphological marker for the quality of green tea, and the tea with plenty of pubescence is generally recognized as having a better taste. However, there is no systematic study on chemical compositions of tea leaf pubescence. The contributions of pubescence to taste properties are far from clear. In this research, 114 components were identified from the tea leaf pubescence of yunkang 10, a broad-leaf tea cultivar with plenty leaf pubescence, for the first time with a non-targeted metabolomics approach using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS). Compared to the tea leaf with the pubescence removed (non-pubescent leaf), the pubescence obtained from the same shoots had relatively higher contents of amino acids and lower contents of polyphenols. It was also found that the umami of pubescence was elevated, while the bitterness and astringency were significantly declined. Partial least-squares (PLS) analysis suggested that the polyphenols and amino acids accounted for the taste quality. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the metabolites in tea leaf pubescence were profiled. The results offer the direct concrete evidence on the contributions of pubescence to the tea taste properties.Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) act as direct defenses against herbivores and as indirect defenses by attracting herbivore enemies. However, the involvement of HIPVs in within-plant or plant-to-plant signaling is not fully clarified. Furthermore, in contrast to model plants, HIPV signaling roles in crops have hardly been reported. Here, we investigated HIPVs emitted from tea (Camellia sinensis) plants, an important crop used for beverages, and their involvement in tea plant-to-plant signaling. To ensure uniform and sufficient exposure to HIPVs, jasmonic acid combined with mechanical damage (JAMD) was used to simulate herbivore attacks. Metabonomics techniques based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were employed to determine metabolite changes in undamaged tea plants exposed to JAMD-stimulated volatiles. JAMD-stimulated volatiles mainly enhanced the amounts of 1-O-galloyl-6-O-luteoyl-α-d-glucose, assamicain C, 2,3,4,5-tetrahydroxy-6-oxohexyl gallate, quercetagitrin, 2-(2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-5,7-dihydroxy-4-oxo-4H-chromen-8-yl)-4,5-dihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)-tetrahydro-2H-pyran-3-yl, 3,4-dimethoxybenzoate, 1,3,4,5,6,7-hexahydroxyheptan-2-one, and methyl gallate in neighboring undamaged tea leaves. Furthermore, α-farnesene and β-ocimene, which were produced after JAMD treatments, were identified as two main JAMD-stimulated volatiles altering metabolite profiles of the neighboring undamaged tea leaves. This research advances our understanding of the ecological functions of HIPVs and can be used to develop crop biological control agents against pest insects in the future.Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Compared with traditional organic fertilizer, fermented soybean is a better fertilizer resource in tea plantations. The application of organic fertilizer is a feasible practice to mitigate the soil degradation caused by the overuse of chemical fertilizers, which can effectively regulate soil microbial communities in tea plantations. However, the effects of fermented soybean on soil microbial communities, soil metabolites and metabolites in tea new shoots have not been systematically demonstrated, and their interactions have never been studied. Here, we investigated the responses of the soil microbial community, soil metabolites and metabolites of tea new shoots to urea fertilization (UF), naturally fermented soybean fertilization (NFS) and enzymatic fermented soybean fertilization (EFS), and analyzed the relationships between soil microbes, soil metabolites and metabolites in tea new shoots. The results showed that soil bacterial communities were dominated by Pseudomonas, Romboutsia, Candidatus_Nitrosotalea and Helicobacter, and soil fungal communities were dominated by Peziza, Fusarium, Candida and Cheilymenia at the genus level. In EFS, bacterial genera (Glutamicibacter and Streptomyces) and fungal genera (Candida and Actinomucor) presented high abundances, which were correlated with soil carbohydrate and lipid including D-Mannitol, D-Sorbitol, 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid and (Z)-13-Docosenoic acid. Enzymatic fermented soybean fertilization also affected the lipid metabolites in tea new shoots. Glycerolipids and glycerophospholipids significantly increased in EFS, which positively correlated with some soil microbial communities. Besides, the application of fermented soybean fertilizer could increase the contents of TP, AP and AK, which were also important environmental factors affecting the structure of soil microbial community in tea plantation. It was concluded that fermented soybean fertilization could improve soil nutrition, regulate associated microbial communities, and positively affect lipid metabolites in tea new shoots. This study not only explores the relationships between soil microbes and metabolites in tea plants, but also provides feasible technical guidance to cultivate high-quality tea using soybean as high-grade fertilizer.

Background: rhodamines are dyes widely used as fluorescent tags in cell imaging, probing of mitochondrial membrane potential, and as P-glycoprotein model substrates. In all these applications, detailed understanding of the interaction between rhodamines and biomembranes is fundamental. Methods: we combined atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and fluorescence spectroscopy to characterize the interaction between rhodamines 123 and B (Rh123 and RhB, respectively) and POPC bilayers. Results: while the xanthene moiety orients roughly parallel to the membrane plane in unrestrained MD simulations, variations on the relative position of the benzoic ring (below the xanthene for Rh123, above it for RhB) were observed, and related to the structure of the two dyes and their interactions with water and lipids. Subtle distinctions were found among different ionization forms of the probes. Experimentally, RhB displayed a lipid/water partition coefficient more than two orders of magnitude higher than Rh123, in agreement with free energy profiles obtained from umbrella sampling MD. Conclusions: this work provided detailed insights on the similarities and differences in the behavior of bilayer-inserted Rh123 and RhB, related to the structure of the probes. The much higher affinity of RhB for the membranes increases the local concentration and explains its higher apparent affinity for P-glycoprotein reconstituted in model membranes.

Lyophilization is the "gold standard" for drying plant extracts, which is important in preserving their quality and extending their shelf-life. Compared to other methods of drying plant extracts, lyophilization is costlier due to equipment, material and operational expenses. An alternative method is post-extraction oven-drying, but the effects of this process on extract quality are unknown. In this study, crude extracts from Arthrocnemum macrostachyum shoots were compared using three post-extraction drying methods (lyophilization and oven drying at 40 and 60 °C) and two extraction solvents (water and aqueous 50% ethanol). Untargeted metabolomics coupled with chemometrics analysis revealed that post extraction oven-drying resulted in the loss of up to 27% of molecular features when compared to lyophilization in water extracts only. In contrast, only 3% of molecular features were lost in aqueous 50% ethanol extracts when subjected to oven drying. That is to say, ethanol used as a solvent has a stabilizing effect on metabolites and enhances their resistance to thermal transformation in the oven. Collectively, oven-drying of extracts was as effective as lyophilization in preserving metabolites in extracts only when 50% ethanol was used as a solvent. The results presented in this paper demonstrate the value of selecting solvent-appropriate post-extraction drying methods.© 2021. The Author(s).

Tea leaves contain an extraordinarily high level of flavonoids that contribute to tea health benefits and flavor characteristics, but the regulatory mechanism of ambient ultraviolet B (UV-B) on tea flavonoid enrichment remains unclear. Here, we report that ambient UV-B modulates tea quality by inducing a metabolic flux in flavonoid biosynthesis. UV-B absence decreased bitter- and astringent-tasting flavonol glycosides (kaempferol-7--glucoside, myricetin-3--glucoside, and quercetin-7--glucoside) but increased non-galloylated catechins. Conversely, supplementary UV-B increased flavonols and decreased catechins in tea leaves. These responses were achieved via CsHY5, which mediates the UV-B-induced MYB12 activation and binds to the promoters of flavonoid biosynthetic genes (,, and ), leading to flavonoid changes. Transcriptomic data indicated that UV-B-induced tea flavonoid regulation is responsive to multiple biotic and abiotic environmental stresses. These findings improve our understanding of light-regulated tea astringency and bitterness underlying shading effects and seasonal light changes and provide novel insights into tea cultivation management and processing.

【目的】系统开展外源茉莉酸甲酯诱导以及&#x0201c;做青&#x0201d;阶段机械损伤双重胁迫下茶叶中脂溶性色素的动态变化研究,阐明外源茉莉酸甲酯诱导后茶树鲜叶制得乌龙茶中类胡萝卜素含量提高的机理,为合理利用外源诱导提升鲜叶品质和加工制得的乌龙茶品质提供科学依据。【方法】0.25%外源茉莉酸甲酯喷施3&#x02014;4年生盆栽&#x02018;金萱&#x02019;茶树叶面,至均匀挂滴,对不同诱导时间（0、12、24、48和168 h）的鲜叶及利用该鲜叶制作得到的乌龙茶样品进行基于UPLC-QToFMS的靶标代谢组学分析,解析叶黄素、&#x003b2;-胡萝卜素、新叶黄素、玉米黄质、&#x003b1;-胡萝卜素和叶绿素a/b的含量变化;同时对乌龙茶制作的关键工序&#x0201c;做青&#x0201d;以及杀青后揉捻阶段样品中这些脂溶性色素的动态变化进行监测分析。同时,开展不同诱导时间采摘的鲜叶加工得到成品乌龙茶的香气感官评价。【结果】靶标代谢组学分析结果表明,叶黄素是&#x02018;金萱&#x02019;鲜叶中含量最高的类胡萝卜素,其含量达到（405.06&#x000b1;17.71）&#x000b5;g&#x000b7;g^-1,在成品乌龙茶中含量显著下降,仅为（277.36&#x000b1;32.72）&#x000b5;g&#x000b7;g^-1。外源茉莉酸甲酯诱导后,脂溶性色素含量变化显著,诱导48 h内,茶树鲜叶中叶绿素a含量较对照鲜叶中（0 h）增加,随后显著下降;叶绿素b在诱导后的鲜叶中始终处于减少的趋势。叶黄素在12 h样品中含量显著下降,在24 h的样品中其含量均较对照升高;&#x003b2;-胡萝卜素在诱导后的鲜叶中含量始终低于对照,其中12 h的样品中含量仅为116.36 &#x000b5;g&#x000b7;g^-1,减少34.55%。利用茉莉酸甲酯诱导后的鲜叶（12、24和48 h）制作得到的成品茶样品中叶绿素a含量较对照均显著下降;叶黄素含量显著升高,其中48 h的样品中含量最高,达到377.82 &#x000b5;g&#x000b7;g ^-1。&#x0201c;做青&#x0201d;过程中（W1&#x02014;W3）,对7种脂溶性色素含量变化进行相应的热图分析,与对照相比,叶绿素a含量均显著下降,而叶绿素b含量则在12 h样品中显著升高。5种类胡萝卜素的含量动态变化则更加复杂,含量最高的叶黄素在12 h样品中含量显著下降,随后在24和48 h的样品中含量略有升高;&#x003b2;-胡萝卜素的含量始终低于对照。此外,玉米黄质和&#x003b1;-胡萝卜素在诱导12 h以后的样品中始终维持非常高的含量。揉捻阶段的样品,7种脂溶性色素也呈现出显著变化,除了&#x003b2;-胡萝卜素含量较对照样品减少,叶黄素、新叶黄素、玉米黄质以及&#x003b1;-胡萝卜素的含量在诱导12 h后的样品中均比对照高。茉莉酸甲酯诱导的样品中,叶绿素a的含量降低,叶绿素b的含量在诱导12 h后增加。此外,茶叶感官审评结果表明,外源茉莉酸甲酯诱导后茶树鲜叶加工得到的乌龙茶香气品质显著提升,具有持久浓郁的花香,然而其叶底明亮度和柔软性较未处理的对照样品有所下降。【结论】外源茉莉酸甲酯诱导茶树鲜叶,24 h内可以显著提高鲜叶及成品茶中的类胡萝卜素含量,诱导12 h后鲜叶加工得到的成品茶香气品质显著提高,具有浓郁的花香。外源诱导与&#x0201c;做青&#x0201d;机械损伤双重胁迫激发茶鲜叶中脂溶性色素的差异积累。

探究白茶的代谢物特征及其形成的加工学原理，以福云六号和黄旦茶树品种一芽二三叶鲜叶为原料，按照白茶、绿茶、乌龙茶和红茶加工方法制成相应茶类。使用超高效液相色谱-四极杆飞行时间质谱测定鲜叶样品和不同茶类中全部代谢物丰度，并对代谢物进行筛选和鉴定。结果表明，2 个品种制成的不同茶类之间代谢差异物共筛选出152 个和148 个，其中33 个茶叶中主要物质得到鉴定，这些物质属于儿茶素及其衍生物类、花青素类、水解单宁类、黄酮醇或黄酮糖苷类、酚酸类和茶黄素类。主成分分析表明白茶在第1主成分上介于乌龙茶和红茶之间，在第2主成分上区别于其他茶类。载荷图显示黄酮醇或黄酮糖苷类物质、酯型儿茶素和儿茶素衍生物是白茶区别于其他茶类的特征代谢产物。从物质丰度上看，白茶中大部分黄酮醇或黄酮糖苷类物质显著高于其他茶类；儿茶素和花青素显著低于绿茶并接近红茶，特别是非酯型儿茶素；茶黄素和茶黄素-3-没食子酸酯高于绿茶，但茶黄素-3’-没食子酸酯和茶黄素-3,3’-没食子酸酯与绿茶相比无显著差异；儿茶素衍生物8-C-抗坏血酸基-表没食子儿茶素没食子酸酯显著高于其他茶类。

There are numerous non-volatile metabolites in the fresh shoots of tea plants. However, we know little about the complex relationship between the content of these metabolites and their gene expression levels. In investigating this, this study involved non-volatile metabolites from 68 accessions of tea plants that were detected and identified using untargeted metabolomics. The tea accessions were divided into three groups from the results of a principal component analysis based on the relative content of the metabolites. There were differences in variability between the primary and secondary metabolites. Furthermore, correlations among genes, gene metabolites, and metabolites were conducted based on Pearson's correlation coefficient (PCC) values. This study offered several significant insights into the co-current network of genes and metabolites in the global genetic background. Thus, the study is useful for providing insights into the regulatory relationship of the genetic basis for predominant metabolites in fresh tea shoots.

Burdock (Arctium lappa L.) is one of the nutritional foods widely planted in many countries. Dried burdock root (BR) is available as a herbal tincture and tea in many Asian countries with good flavor and taste. In this study, the volatile components in dried BR were identified and the effects of different drying methods on the volatile components were investigated by HS-GC-MS method. A total of 49 compounds were identified. Different drying methods including hot-air drying (HD, at 50, 60, 70, and 80 °C), vacuum drying (VD, at 50, 60, 70, and 80 °C), sunlight drying (SD), natural drying (ND), and vacuum freeze drying (VFD) were evaluated by HS-GC-MS-based metabolomics method. Results showed that different drying methods produced different effects on the volatile compounds. It was observed that 2,3-pentanedione, 1-(1H-pyrrol-2-yl)-ethanone, furfural, and heptanal were detected at higher concentrations in HD 80 and VD 70. The traditional HD and SD methods produced more flavor substances than VFD. The BR treated by the VFD method could maintain the shape of the fresh BR pieces while HD50 and VD80 methods could maintain the color of fresh BR pieces. These findings could help better understand the flavor of the corresponding processed BR and provide a guide for the drying and processing of BR tea.

干燥作为茶叶初制加工的重要工序，对茶叶感官品质的形成具有重要意义。干燥过程中，在热和力的作用下，随着水分的不断散失，在制品物理特性和内质成分发生剧烈变化，从而形成茶叶特有的感官品质。笔者阐述了中国茶叶初制各干燥技术原理及特点，指出茶叶干燥将由单一技术向联合应用技术发展的趋势，并提出要完善新型联合干燥技术的基础研究和干燥在制品含水量在线检测技术，为新型茶叶干燥机械研发和未来茶叶干燥技术提供一定的发展思路。

Preharvest shading significantly influences tea flavor. However, little attention has been given to the mechanism of shading on metabolites, genes, and enzymes in the processing of different tea types. Our study identified 1028 nonvolatile metabolites covering 10 subclasses using a widely targeted metabolome. The results show that shading had a greater effect on the compositions of amino acids, flavonoids, and theaflavins in tea leaves. The combined transcriptomics and enzyme activity analysis results indicate that the upregulated expression of asparagine, aspartate, and tryptophan synthesis genes and proteolytic enzymes promoted the accumulation of amino acids. The downregulated enzyme genes resulted in the reduction of nongalloylated catechins and flavonoid glycosides. Simultaneously, the accumulation of TFs in shaded tea was due to the enhanced enzymatic activities of polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase during processing. Theaflavin-3-3'-di--gallate was also significantly positively correlated with the antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities of shaded tea. The results contribute to a better understanding of how preharvest treatments influence summer tea quality.

Flaxseed is an excellent source of valuable nutrients and is also considered a functional food. There are two types of hydrocolloids in flaxseed: flaxseed gum and proteins. Flaxseed gum exhibits emulsifying and foaming activities or can be used as a thickening and gelling agent. Due to its form of soluble fiber, flaxseed gum is related to many health benefits. Flaxseed proteins have various functional properties based on their physicochemical properties. While albumins possess the emulsion-forming ability, globulins better serve as foaming agents. Flaxseed proteins may also serve as a source of functional peptides with interesting biological and health-related activities. Functional properties and health-related benefits predetermine the application of these hydrocolloids, mainly in the food industry or medicine. Although these properties of flaxseed hydrocolloids have been recently and extensively studied, they are still not widely used on the industrial scale compared to other popular plant gums and proteins. The aim of this review was to present, discuss and highlight the recent discoveries in the structural characteristics and functional and biological properties of these versatile hydrocolloids with respect to factors affecting their characteristics and offer new insights into their potential applications as comparable alternatives to the other natural hydrocolloids or as the sources of novel functional products.