Discrimination of Sayamakaori and Yabukita Which Are Original Plant Source of Japanese Green Tea and Identification of Specific Compounds for the Former by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Metabolomics Techniques Combined with Isolation by Chromatography Methods

Camellia sinensis leaves are one of the most economically important crops, and various tea cultivars are available in Japan. In the present study, we compared the constituents of Camellia sinensis var. sinensis cv. Yabukita ("Yabukita"), a standard tea cultivar, and those of C. sinensis var. sinensis cv. Sayamakaori ("Sayamakaori"), grown in Saitama Prefecture, using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (H-1-NMR) metabolomics technology. Principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis of H-1-NMR spectroscopic data of the MeOH extracts of C. sinensis leaves revealed differences in the metabolic profiles of each tea cultivar. Chromatographic separation based on H-1-NMR spectral data showed that kaempferol 3-O-ss-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 -> 3)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 -> 6)-ss-D-glucopyranoside was a distinct component of "Sayamakaori". This compound can be used as maker for the identification of "Sayamakaori" and the maintenance of its quality.