Table 1.

Contents of metabolites in ‘Xiaoxueya’ leaves (mg/g DW).

Metabolite	Bud	First leaf	Second leaf	Third leaf
Theobromine	4.38 ± 0.60 a	2.81 ± 0.08 b	1.80 ± 0.08 c	0.61 ± 0.04 d
Caffeine	32.78 ± 0.27 c	38.69 ± 0.78 a	34.29 ± 0.94 b	24.34 ± 0.60 d
Total alkaloids	37.16 ± 0.88 b	41.49 ± 0.85 a	36.09 ± 1.02 b	24.95 ± 0.56 c
Gallic acid	1.07 ± 0.14 a	1.17 ± 0.07 a	0.83 ± 0.05 b	0.25 ± 0.01 c
EC	2.58 ± 0.20 d	6.12 ± 0.36 c	9.38 ± 0.28 a	7.85 ± 0.31 b
C	2.44 ± 0.01 a	1.85 ± 0.09 b	1.86 ± 0.03 b	1.92 ± 0.02 b
EGC	5.49 ± 0.99 c	16.34 ± 2.47 b	27.33 ± 1.19 a	27.38 ± 0.62 a
GC	2.41 ± 0.06 b	3.28 ± 0.25 a	3.42 ± 0.11 a	2.00 ± 0.28 b
EGCG	75.41 ± 3.34 c	103.76 ± 5.71 a	89.55 ± 2.90 b	47.13 ± 2.01 d
ECG	24.24 ± 0.88 b	27.06 ± 0.99 a	19.79 ± 1.11 c	8.44 ± 0.35 d
Total catechins	112.58 ± 5.36 b	158.42 ± 9.58 a	151.34 ± 5.11 a	94.71 ± 3.03 c
Total polyphenols	277.30 ± 7.71 b	332.80 ± 17.73 a	283.04 ± 9.26 b	162.16 ± 4.91 c
Aspartic acid	3.13 ± 0.10 bc	2.32 ± 0.21 c	3.24 ± 0.09 b	7.63 ± 0.72 a
Glutamic acid	4.89 ± 0.13 b	3.21 ± 0.30 d	3.89 ± 0.13 c	7.90 ± 0.41 a
Serine	0.88 ± 0.02 bc	0.76 ± 0.06 c	0.95 ± 0.02 b	1.96 ± 0.15 a
Theanine	8.68 ± 0.43 b	3.59 ± 0.15 c	8.40 ± 0.18 b	23.38 ± 1.45 a
Alanine	0.31 ± 0.00 b	0.18 ± 0.01 c	0.37 ± 0.03 b	1.03 ± 0.06 a
γ-Aminobutyric acid	0.83 ± 0.03 a	0.53 ± 0.03 c	0.62 ± 0.09 bc	0.70 ± 0.02 b
Total amino acids	41.94 ± 0.14 b	32.66 ± 1.22 c	38.74 ± 0.55 b	67.43 ± 4.02 a
Ratio of polyphenols to amino acids	6.61 ± 0.21 c	10.19 ± 0.28 a	7.31 ± 0.15 b	2.41 ± 0.20 d

Data are presented as the mean of three replicates (± standard deviation). Data marked with different letters indicate statistically significant differences among samples (p value ≤ 0.05). DW, dry weight. EC, (−)-epicatechin. C, (+)-catechin. EGC, (−)-epigallocatechin. GC, (+)-gallocatechin. EGCG, (−)-epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate. ECG, (−)-epicatechin-3-O-gallate.