Organic cultivation on the Yungui plateau improves green tea flavor while reducing heavy metal accumulation

Source: PubMed Central Open Access, NCBI / U.S. National Library of Medicine

Organic (ORG) and conventional (CON) teas are produced under distinct cultivation systems that may influence tea quality and safety. However, comparative studies focusing on plateau regions remain limited. In this study, tea samples from the same cultivar cultivated under ORG and CON systems in the Yungui Plateau were comparatively analyzed in terms of physicochemical properties, heavy metal contents, and volatile profiles. Compared with CON green tea, the contents of tea polyphenols, catechin, and quercetin in ORG green tea increased by 6.95%, 75.9%, and 11.9%, respectively, whereas the contents of free amino acids and theanine decreased. The concentrations of cadmium, lead, and chromium were 52.9%–96.8% lower in ORG tea. Compared with CON tea, ORG green tea exhibited 71.9% and 171% higher fruity and woody aroma intensities, respectively, whereas the intensity of the grassy note decreased by 93.8%. Overall, organic cultivation significantly improved the flavor quality and safety of plateau green tea. ab0005 Highlights • Quality comparison between organic and conventional green teas from plateau regions. li0005 • Significantly lower heavy metal content was detected in organic green tea. li0010 • Organic cultivation enhanced fruity, woody, and fatty aroma notes. li0015 • Reduced grassy off-flavors contributed to better flavor in organic green tea. li0020 • The authentication model based on quality indicators achieved 97.8% accuracy. li0025 simple l0005 author-highlights ab0010