How the health-benefit components of tea vary depending on the cultivar and season: The example of Darjeeling tea

Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Title

Tea in Health and Disease Prevention

Abstract

Tea, in brief, infused leaves of Camellia sinensis can be ascribed as the most popular, cheapest, and utility drink after water. Tea leaves contain a plethora of naturally occurring phytochemicals, including polyphenols, catechins, and their derivatives, demonstrated to have commendable antioxidant properties. Antioxidants are proving to be essential as they neutralize free radicals (voluntarily evolved during different metabolic functions). Considering this, demand for quality tea production is a frontline issue for health-conscious people. Presently, available Darjeeling tea cultivars are mostly developed through the selection of elite genotypes from wild or controlled cross-pollinated cultivars. Tasks for exploring distinguished cultivars with favorable agronomic traits are still viable and a priority in tea research. Owing to the same, 22 tea cultivars were studied during three different plucking seasons to determine how much compositional variation exists in cultivars in terms of “tea health benefits” as well as the variations across plucking seasons.

First Page

185

Last Page

199

DOI

10.1016/B978-0-443-14158-4.00006-3

Publication Date

1-1-2024

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS