Hongyacha, a Naturally Caffeine-Free Tea Plant from Fujian, China
Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 2018 papers
Abstract
Hongyacha (HYC) is a type of new wild tea plant discovered in Fujian Province, China. This tea is helpful to the healing or prevention of disease in its original growing area. However, research on this tea is limited. Our results showed that HYC displayed obvious differences in its morphological characteristics compared with Cocoa tea ( Camellia ptilophylla Chang), a famous caffeine-free tea plant in China. Theobromine and trans-catechins, but not caffeine and cis-catechins, were the dominant purine alkaloids and catechins detected in HYC. HYC might contain abundant gallocatechin-(4 → 8)-gallocatechin gallate, 1,3,4,6-tetra- O-galloyl-β-d-glucopyranose, and (-)-gallocatechin-3,5-di- O-gallate, which were not detected in regular tea. We also found that the TCS1 of HYC was distinct, and the responding recombinant protein exhibited only theobromine synthase activity. The obtained results showed that HYC is a new kind of caffeine-free tea plant and may be used for scientific protection and efficient utilization in the future.
Related Papers
- → THEOBROMINE AND CAFFEINE CONTENT OF CHOCOLATE PRODUCTS(1980)86 cited
- → Comparative stimulant and diuretic actions of caffeine and theobromine in man(1970)60 cited
- → Theobromine and caffeine content of the cocoa bean during its growth(1971)42 cited
- → CAFFEINE AND THEOBROMINE ARE SYNTHESIZED BY TWO DIFFERENT PATHWAYS IN LEAVES OF COFFEA ARABICA(1990)