Widely targeted metabolomics and HPLC analysis elaborated the quality formation of Yunnan pickled tea during the whole process at an industrial scale.

• Widely targeted metabolomics reveals chemical periodic change in whole process. • 568 Differential metabolites (VIP > 1.0, P < 0.05, FC > 1.50 or < 0.67) selected. • Anaerobic fermentation is regarded as critical process for the quality formation. • 7 Amino acids, 4 phenolic acids, 6 flavonoids and their glycosides accumulated. • N -, O -methylation, hydrolyzation, glycosylation, oxidation involved in fermentation. Yunnan pickled tea is produced from fresh tea-leaves through fixation, rolling, anaerobic fermentation and sun-drying. In this study, widely targeted metabolomics using UHPLC-QQQ-MS/MS and HPLC analysis were carried out to elaborate its quality formation during the whole process. Results confirmed the contribution of preliminary treatments and anaerobic fermentation to the quality formation. A total of 568 differential metabolites (VIP > 1.0, P < 0.05, FC > 1.50 or < 0.67) were screened through OPLS-DA. (-)-Epigallocatechin and (-)-epicatechin significantly (P < 0.05) increased from the hydrolyzation of ester catechins, such as (-)-epigallocatechin gallate and (-)-epicatechin gallate in anaerobic fermentation. Additionally, the anaerobic fermentation promoted vast accumulations of seven essential amino acids, four phenolic acids, three flavones and flavone glycosides, pelargonidin and pelargonidin glycosides, flavonoids and flavonoid glycosides (i.e. kaempferol, quercetin, taxifolin, apigenin, myricetin, luteolin and their glycosides) through relevant N -methylation, O -methylation, hydrolyzation, glycosylation and oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]