| In addition to contributing to the color of the tea leaf, carotenoids are also the precursors of key aroma substances in tea. Carotenoids are degraded to many aroma substances with floral fragrance aroma by enzymatic (mainly by splitting dioxygenase CCD with carotenoids) or non-enzymatic reactions (high temperature, light, acid condition and other unknown factors) during tea processing. In view of the important contribution of carotenoids to tea quality, researches on carotenoids in tea has attracted the attention of many researchers in recent years. In order to clarify the biosynthesis and metabolism regulation mechanism of carotenoids in tea plants, based on the application of various tea germplasm resources and environmental factors, a series of related studies have been carried out by using biochemical and molecular methods. The article mainly summarizes the influence of tea plant resources (normal green tea and yellow/albino tea), tea plant growth environment (light and temperature), agronomic measures (shading treatment), and post-harvest processing techniques (withering and drying) on the biosynthesis and metabolism of tea carotenoids and the regulation mechanism. Finally, future research directions of carotenoids in tea are discussed, aiming to deeply understand the metabolism and regulation mechanism of carotenoids in tea and provide certain theoretical basis for the improvement of tea quality in the future. |
