Metabolomics and electronic tongue analysis show taste differences in Juhong tea from various black tea sources.
- 1Key Laboratory of Tea Resources Comprehensive Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hubei Tea Engineering and Technology Research Centre, Fruit and Tea Research Institute, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, 430064, China.
- 2Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Enshi 445000, Hubei, China.
- 3Hubei Jinguo Tea Industry Co., Ltd. in Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Enshi 445000, China.
Abstract
Juhong tea is an innovative blend of citrus peel and black tea characterized by a multifaceted flavor system and synergistically enhanced bioactive constituents. Here, the taste profiles, metabolic variations and antioxidant ability were comprehensively compared and characterized across four Juhong teas derived from diverse raw materials: traditional Juhong tea (TJH), single-bud Juhong tea (BJH), wild Juhong tea (WJH), and shaded Juhong tea (SJH), with both commonalities and distinctions highlighted. Sensory evaluation showed that BJH received the highest average overall sensory score (8.05), driven by a rich profile of amino acids (totaling 20.56 mg/g), whereas TJH exhibited superior sweetness (8.85) in electronic tongue analysis due to higher soluble sugar and theaflavin concentrations. Widely targeted metabolomics identified 520 nonvolatile metabolites across the samples, with 193 key differential metabolites screened via OPLS-DA by the criteria of variable importance in projection (VIP) > 1, p < 0.05, and |log2(fold change) | > 1. The common abundant metabolites, particularly theanine, 2-aminoisobutyrate, tangeretin, and hesperidin, synergistically shape the characteristic umami, sweet, and citrus-like flavor of Juhong teas. Furthermore, correlation analysis indicated that polyphenols, amino acids, and theaflavins jointly drive the antioxidant properties of Juhong tea. Collectively, these findings revealed the chemical basis of the Juhong tea flavor, providing a theoretical framework for quality control and processing optimization of citrus-tea composites.
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BibTeX
@article{gui2026metabolomics,
title = {{Metabolomics and electronic tongue analysis show taste differences in Juhong tea from various black tea sources.}},
author = {Anhui Gui and Fei Ye and Lin Feng and Shengpeng Wang and Panpan Liu and Jinbo Liang and Xueping Wang and Jinjin Xue and Jun Xiang and Fangjun Su and Jing Teng and Jing Huang and Pengcheng Zheng and Shiwei Gao},
journal = {Food chemistry: X},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.fochx.2026.104618},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42926899},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Metabolomics and electronic tongue analysis show taste differences in Juhong tea from various black tea sources.
AU - Anhui Gui
AU - Fei Ye
AU - Lin Feng
AU - Shengpeng Wang
AU - Panpan Liu
AU - Jinbo Liang
AU - Xueping Wang
AU - Jinjin Xue
AU - Jun Xiang
AU - Fangjun Su
AU - Jing Teng
AU - Jing Huang
AU - Pengcheng Zheng
AU - Shiwei Gao
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/12
JO - Food chemistry: X
DO - 10.1016/j.fochx.2026.104618
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42926899
AB - Juhong tea is an innovative blend of citrus peel and black tea characterized by a multifaceted flavor system and synergistically enhanced bioactive constituents. Here, the taste profiles, metabolic variations and antioxidant ability were comprehensively compared and characterized across four Juhong teas derived from diverse raw materials: traditional Juhong tea (TJH), single-bud Juhong tea (BJH), wild Juhong tea (WJH), and shaded Juhong tea (SJH), with both commonalities and distinctions highlighted. Sensory evaluation showed that BJH received the highest average overall sensory score (8.05), driven by a rich profile of amino acids (totaling 20.56 mg/g), whereas TJH exhibited superior sweetness (8.85) in electronic tongue analysis due to higher soluble sugar and theaflavin concentrations. Widely targeted metabolomics identified 520 nonvolatile metabolites across the samples, with 193 key differential metabolites screened via OPLS-DA by the criteria of variable importance in projection (VIP) > 1, p < 0.05, and |log2(fold change) | > 1. The common abundant metabolites, particularly theanine, 2-aminoisobutyrate, tangeretin, and hesperidin, synergistically shape the characteristic umami, sweet, and citrus-like flavor of Juhong teas. Furthermore, correlation analysis indicated that polyphenols, amino acids, and theaflavins jointly drive the antioxidant properties of Juhong tea. Collectively, these findings revealed the chemical basis of the Juhong tea flavor, providing a theoretical framework for quality control and processing optimization of citrus-tea composites.
SN - 2590-1575
ER -