Abstract:

This study aims to analyze the biochemical composition diversity of wild tea germplasm resources (Camellia taliensis) in Yunnan. The contents of tea polyphenols, amino acids, water extracts, caffeine and catechin from 21 wild tea germplasm resources (Camellia taliensis) in Yunnan were determined, and their biochemical diversity was also evaluated. The results showed that the tea polyphenols content ranged from 18.80% to 25.20%, the amino acids content ranged from 2.00% to 3.90%, the caffeine content ranged from 1.10% to 4.10%, the water extracts content ranged from 45.30% to 52.50%, the total catechin content ranged from 4.37% to 14.17%, the variation coefficient was 3.33%-157.89%, and the average genetic diversity index was 1.77. The cluster analysis of biochemical composition contents divided these 21 resources into 2 groups: the contents of C, EC, non-ester catechin and total catechins in group 1 were relatively low, while the contents of EGCG, ECG, ester catechin and total catechins in group 2 were relatively high. One germplasm with high polyphenols, two germplasms with low caffeine and one germplasm with high amino acids were preliminarily selected from the 21 wild tea germplasm resources, and these excellent resources could be utilized directly or as excellent parent materials for tea breeding.

Key words: Yunnan, Camellia taliensis, biochemical compositions, diversity