QUANTITATIVE ESTIMATION OF TERPENOID CONTENT IN SOME TEA CULTIVARS OF NORTH EAST INDIA AND THEIR IN VITRO CELL CULTURES USING AN OPTIMIZED SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC METHOD

Abstract

Terpenoids, which constitute one of the most diverse groups of bioactive compounds in plants, contribute to about 60%
of the known natural compounds. Tea (Camellia sinensis), which is a highly preferred beverage throughout the world, is
also rich in these flavor-imparting bioactive compounds. In this study, a simplified spectrophotometric method has been
developed for the quantitative estimation of terpenoids in polyphenol-rich tea plant. Furthermore, terpenoid content in
leaves and flowers of tea plant and their respective in vitro cultured cells have also been estimated. Terpenoid content was
found to be up to five folds higher in flowers (123.9 mg/g DW) than in leaves (24.2 mg/g DW), and up to 1.7 folds
higher in cultured flower cells (184.8 mg/g DW) as compared to in vitro cultured leaf cells (110.1 mg/g DW).
Additionally, comparison of terpenoid content in tea leaves across the four different plucking seasons revealed a unique
pattern wherein second (42.2 mg/g) and fourth flush (42.6 mg/g) tea were found to have the highest terpenoid content.
First of its kind, this study provides an inexpensive method for screening of cultivars with better flavour and defense
attributes. Furthermore, it also paves a way for future research in tea flowers which have high terpenoid content and the
utilization of these therapeutic bioactive terpenoids in the development of diverse products for human health and
wellness.