PLANT CELL BIOTECHNOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Tea is a traditional beverage. There are different types of tea, such as black, white, green, oolong, and herbal teas. In recent years, lotus tea has been increased interest. This study aimed to assess the physicochemical properties, bioactive compounds of different types of lotus tea in Thua Thien Hue, province, Viet Nam. The physicochemical properties, bioactive compounds of four kinds of lotus teas were assessed in the laboratory by measuring their pH, ⁰Brix, sugar reducing, extract water, ash total, chlorophyll content, and some bioactive compounds consist of total tannin, polyphenol, caffeine content. The results indicated that, the physicochemical properties in lotus tea: pH: 6.17-6.25, ⁰Brix: 1.42-4.50, total ash content: 2.87-4.95 (%dry matter), water extract content: 22.94-33.94 (%dry matter), sugar reducing content: 7.60-15.53 g/100 g, chlorophyll content in lotus teas produced from different parts of the lotus plant is different and assess the sensory color of tea. The biochemical compounds including total polyphenols: 7.46-12.97 (% dry matter), total tannin: 11.88-14.79 (% dry matter), and total caffeine: 0.261-0.354 (% dry matter). Our results indicate the high biochemical diversity of lotus tea in Thua Thien Hue province, Viet Nam. That contributes to affirming the positive role of lotus tea in human health. In conclusion, the quality of lotus tea produced in Thua Thien Hue province, Viet Nam has comparable quality characteristics with other tea-producing in the world and conformed to the international standard for other teas.