Antioxidative activities and the chemical constituents of two Chinese teas, Camellia kucha and C. ptilophylla

Summary Two kinds of green tea were prepared with the young shoots of Camellia kucha and C. ptilophylla, and antioxidative activities of the chemical constituents were determined. Levels of alkaloids, catechins, total polyphenols, flavonoids and amino acids were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography and UV-Vis spectrophotometer. Antioxidative activity was evaluated by applying 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical assay and ferric reducing antioxidant power assay. Our results showed that theobromine was the only alkaloid in C. ptilophylla, while there was theacrine in C. kucha, which was coexisting with the caffeine. We confirmed the high content of (−)-gallocatechin gallate in C. ptilophylla was not the epimerisation of (−)-epigallocatechin gallate during the heating procedure. These wild teas had higher content of tea polyphenols, water extracts, amion acids and stronger antioxidative activity compared with the longjing tea. They could be used for the development of noncaffeine beverages and new types of tea.