Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42973489›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in nutrition2026

Metabolic characteristics and chemical basis of matcha from cultivars with different leaf colors.

Shiqi Ding, Dingding Liu, Haoran Liu, Yang Gong, Piao Mei, Yuanyuan Ye, Peixin Wang, Chenyu Zhang, Jiedan Chen, Chunlei Ma and 1 more

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Article in Frontiers in nutrition, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Shiqi Ding *National Key Laboratory for Tea Plant Germplasm Innovation and Resource Utilization, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
Dingding Liu *National Key Laboratory for Tea Plant Germplasm Innovation and Resource Utilization, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
Haoran LiuNational Key Laboratory for Tea Plant Germplasm Innovation and Resource Utilization, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
Yang GongNational Key Laboratory for Tea Plant Germplasm Innovation and Resource Utilization, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
Piao MeiNational Key Laboratory for Tea Plant Germplasm Innovation and Resource Utilization, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
Yuanyuan YeNational Key Laboratory for Tea Plant Germplasm Innovation and Resource Utilization, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
Peixin WangNational Key Laboratory for Tea Plant Germplasm Innovation and Resource Utilization, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
Chenyu ZhangNational Key Laboratory for Tea Plant Germplasm Innovation and Resource Utilization, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
Jiedan ChenNational Key Laboratory for Tea Plant Germplasm Innovation and Resource Utilization, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
Chunlei MaNational Key Laboratory for Tea Plant Germplasm Innovation and Resource Utilization, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
Xuecheng ZhaoNational Key Laboratory for Tea Plant Germplasm Innovation and Resource Utilization, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Matcha is widely used in the food, health, and cosmetic industries due to its high nutritional value and distinctive sensory properties. However, traditional matcha products are predominantly produced from green-leaf tea cultivars, which greatly limits product diversity. This study systematically compared the sensory attributes, metabolite composition, and volatile metabolite profiles of matcha produced from green-, purple-, and yellow-leaf tea cultivars to explore the biochemical basis of flavor diversity. Principal component analysis of metabolite profiles clearly separated the samples according to leaf color phenotypes, confirming a strong chemical basis for sensory differentiation among the studied cultivar groups. Green matcha was characterized by higher levels of umami amino acids and lower contents of catechins and caffeine, resulting in a fresh taste with reduced bitterness and astringency. Purple matcha showed elevated levels of ester-type catechins, caffeine, and anthocyanin-related flavonoids, leading to pronounced astringency and lingering bitterness. Yellow matcha contained the highest levels of total amino acids and theanine, contributing to a mellow taste. KEGG pathway analysis revealed that flavonoid biosynthesis and amino acid metabolism are the major pathways associated with metabolic divergence among these cultivars. Volatile analysis indicated that dihydroactinidiolide and leaf alcohol derivatives were predominant volatile compounds potentially associated with the characteristic aroma profiles. These findings provide a biochemical foundation for developing novel matcha products based on cultivars displaying distinct leaf coloration.

Indexed as

aromaflavorleaf colormatchametabolites

Identifiers

PMID42973489
PMCPMC13724418

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