Table 1.
Chemical indicators of tea-leaves in modern and ancient tea plantations, respectively
| Item | Modern tea plantations | Ancient tea plantations | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (n = 5*5) | Rang | Mean (n = 5*5) | Rang | |
| Water extraction (%) | 49.74 ± 2.65 | 48.65 ~ 50.84 | 50.82 ± 2.09 | 49.96 ~ 51.69 |
| Free amino acids (%) | 2.81 ± 0.36 | 2.65 ~ 2.96 | 3.43 ± 0.30*** | 3.31 ~ 3.55 |
| Tea polyphenols (%) | 29.47 ± 1.44 | 28.87 ~ 30.06 | 30.83 ± 1.77** | 30.10 ~ 31.56 |
| Polyphenols/Amino acids ratio | 10.74 ± 2.03 | 9.90 ~ 11.58 | 9.08 ± 1.23*** | 8.57 ~ 9.59 |
| Caffeine (mg g− 1) | 40.21 ± 3.93 | 38.59 ~ 41.83 | 42.78 ± 3.33* | 41.40 ~ 44.15 |
| Gallic acid (mg g−1) | 0.09 ± 0.18 | 0.01 ~ 0.16 | 0.56 ± 0.11*** | 0.51 ~ 0.60 |
| C (mg g−1) | 15.74 ± 4.94 | 13.70 ~ 17.78 | 13.85 ± 5.45 | 11.60 ~ 16.11 |
| EC (mg g−1) | 28.34 ± 7.60 | 25.20 ~ 31.47 | 30.10 ± 10.33 | 25.84 ~ 34.36 |
| EGC (mg g−1) | 18.20 ± 5.45 | 15.95 ~ 20.44 | 30.47 ± 3.52*** | 29.02 ~ 31.93 |
| ECG (mg g−1) | 85.66 ± 19.44 | 77.64 ~ 93.69 | 75.04 ± 20.66 | 66.51 ~ 83.57 |
| GCG (mg g−1) | 5.45 ± 1.50 | 4.83 ~ 6.07 | 4.35 ± 1.78* | 3.61 ~ 5.08 |
| EGCG (mg g−1) | 53.40 ± 6.28 | 50.81 ~ 55.99 | 44.92 ± 4.70*** | 42.98 ~ 46.86 |
| Total catechins (mg g−1) | 200.79 ± 35.87 | 191.98 ~ 221.60 | 198.74 ± 37.51 | 183.25 ~ 214.22 |
| Non-ester catechins (mg g−1) | 62.28 ± 16.70 | 55.38 ~ 69.17 | 74.43 ± 15.51* | 68.02 ~ 80.83 |
| Ester catechins (mg g−1) | 144.51 ± 22.38 | 135.28 ~ 153.75 | 124.31 ± 22.91** | 114.85 ~ 133.76 |
| Non-ester/ Ester catechins ratio | 0.43 ± 0.09 | 0.39 ~ 0.46 | 0.60 ± 0.05*** | 0.57 ~ 0.62 |
Note: Polyphenols/Amino acids ratio = Tea polyphenols content/ free amino acids content; Total catechins were the summation of C, EC, EGC, ECG, GCG and EGCG contents; Non-ester catechins were the summation of C, EC and EGC contents; Ester catechins were the summation of ECG, GCG and EGCG contents; Non-ester/ Ester catechins ratio = Non-ester catechins content/Ester catechins content
And all data were present by mean value ± standard deviation. The range was the mean value at 95% confidence coefficient. Significance difference levels: * P < 0.05; ** P < 0.01 and *** P < 0.001 determined by the independent-samples T-test using SPSS 20.0 for Windows