A study on chemical composition of two special green teas (Camellia sinensis)

Abstract An HPLC method has been used to separate and determine quality‐related chemical components in Zhenong‐xiangya and Zhenong‐cuiliu, two special green teas from Zhejiang, China. Seventeen or eighteen amino acids and five catechins were detected. Theamine was the major amino acid by far, its content reaching 37.7% and 54% of the total amino acids in these teas, respectively. The catechin content was 154.4 mg g −1 in Zhenong‐xiangya and 170.7 mg g −1 in Zhenong‐cuiliu. Caffeine contents in the teas studied were all above 75 mg g −1 which was much higher than those previously reported in green teas. The vitamin C contents were all about 2 mg g −1 . Seven peaks were resolved in the HPLC profiles of the flavonoid extracts of the two teas and three of them were identified as rutin, myricetin and quercetin using reference compounds.