Recently, our team published a manuscript in the Journal of Chromatography summarizing the effects extreme weather events have on tea plant physiology. Comprehensive volatile metabolite libraries were produced for teas harvested before and after the East Asian Monsoon in SW China using automated sequential, multidimensional gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-GC/MS). Using this technology, we were able to identify a total of 201 spring and 196 monsoon metabolites, with 169 common and 59 seasonally unique compounds. Spectral deconvolution of GC/MS data using the metabolite libraries showed marked seasonal differences. Striking concentration differences were observed within families in as little as 5-days after the monsoon onset, with individual metabolites increasing, decreasing or remaining the same between the seasons. The analytical methods developed in this paper will be used to profile metabolites in tea over time with respect to harvest season and climate.

Questions? Please contact the corresponding author on this manuscript, Dr. Albert Robbat, Jr. (albert.robbat@tufts.edu)