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Volatile terpenoids play important roles in the formation of tea aroma quality due to their pleasant scents and low odor thresholds. Most volatile terpenoids contain stereogenic centers, which results in various stereo distributions of their enantiomers and diastereoisomers in different types of tea. However, the distribution characteristics of terpenoid enantiomers in teas were still unclear, which poses an obstacle to the scientific understanding of tea aroma. In this work, a new and efficient analysis approach based on headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME)-chiral gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was established to analyze 12 pairs of familiar terpenoid enantiomers in different teas. The extraction efficiency of the HS-SPME method to extract volatile terpenoids in teas was the greatest when using CAR-DVB-PDMS (50/30 μm) fibers and 1:10 proportions between tea and boiling water at a 50 °C extraction temperature for 40 min, and the stability observation of enantiomeric ratios of the terpenoids well proved the feasibility of the extraction method. The favorable limits of detection, limits of quantitation, repeatability, linearity, and concentration ranges of each terpenoid enantiomer demonstrated the repeatability and reliability of the analytical approach. The enantiomeric and quantitative analyses indicated that S -limonene, S -linalool, (2 S , 5 S )-linalool oxide A, (2 S , 5 R )-linalool oxide B, R -4-terpineol, (2 S , 5 R )-linalool oxide C, (2 S , 5 S )-linalool oxide D, S -α-terpineol, R -α-ionone, peak 1 of theaspirane A and peak 2 of theaspirane B were the major terpenoid components in most Chinese teas; instead, higher proportions of the opposite enantiomers of the above terpenoids were frequently detected in black teas with large leaf origin and Indonesia white teas. Besides, great diversities of enantiomeric ratios and concentrations among different teas were observed. Furthermore, partial least-squares discriminant analyses were performed to distinguish the concentration differences of the terpenoid enantiomers among different teas; the analysis results indicated that highly significant concentration differences existed between large and small leaf origins of black teas, and significant differences of the concentrations of linalool oxides A–C were observed between green, white and dark teas. The successful application of this chiral analysis technique of tea aroma will lay a scientific foundation for further quality assessment, botanical origin determination and authenticity assessment of teas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A chestnut-like aroma is widely considered an important indicator of an excellent-quality green tea; however, the key odorants responsible for chestnut-like aroma have never been systematically studied and remain unknown. In this study, the aroma components of green teas and Chinese chestnuts were analyzed using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC-TOFMS), and 58 compounds were identified as common aroma components among green teas, boiled Chinese chestnuts, roasted Chinese chestnuts and raw Chinese chestnuts. Subsequently, 17 volatiles, including 3-methylbutanal, ( E )-3-penten-2-one, ethylbenzene, heptanal, benzaldehyde, 2-pentylfuran, octanal, benzeneacetaldehyde, ( E )-2-octenal, ( E,E )-3,5-octadien-2-one, linalool, nonanal, ( E )-2-nonenal, decanal, ( Z )-hex-3-en-1-yl hexanoate, trans -β-ionone and ( E )-nerolidol, were identified as the key odorants responsible for chestnut-like aroma based on the odor activity value (OAV) calculation method. Besides, the comparison of OAVs of key odorants between fresh tea leaves and finished teas indicated that all key odorants were present in fresh tea leaves and that their contents increased or decreased during tea processing. Moreover, the comparison between results of OAV and gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) methods showed that ethylbenzene, heptanal, benzaldehyde, 2-pentylfuran, ( E,E )-3,5-octadien-2-one, linalool, ( Z )-hex-3-en-1-yl hexanoate and trans -β-ionone were the common identified compounds between the two methods. The identification of chestnut-like aroma in green teas will provide a theoretical basis for further research on the directional adjustment and control of tea aroma quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aroma is one of the most important determinants of tea quality; thus, the precise characterization of the chemical composition of tea aroma is of significant value. In this study, aroma components of the most famous Chinese green tea, Xihu Longjing tea, were first systematically analyzed using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC-TOFMS) combined with simultaneous distillation extraction (SDE). 478 volatile compounds were identified as common constituents of fifty-five Xihu Longjing tea samples based on standard mass spectra in available databases, retention times, retention indices, structured chromatograms and standards. Subsequently, the aroma qualities of Xihu Longjing tea samples were discriminated by sensory evaluation combined with multivariate analysis. The study results indicated that 37 compounds were positively correlated with aroma quality, and 65 compounds were negatively correlated with aroma quality. The above compounds with various odor characteristics were considered as the key components to affect the aroma quality of Xihu Longjing tea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]