Differences and correlation analysis of volatile compounds and microbial communities between normal and deteriorated Liupao tea

  • WANG Leya ,
  • ZHAO Liangliang ,
  • XIE He ,
  • OU Xingchang ,
  • HUANG Jian’an ,
  • BAI Silei
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  • 1(The Key Laboratory of Tea Science, Ministry of Education, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China)
    2(National Engineering Research Center for the Utilization of Plant Functional Ingredients, Changsha 410128, China)
    3(Co-Innovation Center of Education Ministry for Utilization of Botanical Functional Ingredients, Changsha 410128, China)
    4(Key Laboratory for Evaluation and Utilization of Gene Resources of Horticultural Crops, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China)

Received date: 2025-07-08

  Revised date: 2025-09-05

  Online published: 2026-06-03

Abstract

This study compared the volatile profiles and microbial community structures between normal and deteriorated Liupao tea to clarify key quality-related differences and their potential linkages.Headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and high-throughput sequencing were employed for comprehensive characterization.Deteriorated samples exhibited a higher diversity and total abundance of volatile compounds than normal tea, with marked increases in ethers, ketones, and hydrocarbons, but reduced aromatic alcohols.Integration of variable importance in projection scores with relative odor activity values identified 16 differential compounds.Musty odorants, such as geosmin, were enriched in deteriorated tea, whereas normal tea was dominated by floral-, fruity- and fatty- related volatiles, including (3E,5E)-octa-3,5-dien-2-one, α-terpineol, linalool, linalool oxide Ⅱ, undecane-2-one, methyl heptenone, (E,E)-2,4-heptadienal, and (E)-2-nonenal.Microbial profiling revealed lower bacterial abundance but higher fungal diversity in deteriorated tea.The relative abundances of dominant genera such as Saccharopolyspora and Aspergillus were reduced compared with normal tea.Linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) identified Aspergillus as significantly enriched in normal tea, while several indicator genera in deteriorated tea were adapted to high-temperature, high-humidity environments.Correlation analysis showed a positive association between Aspergillus and aromatic alcohols, and a negative association between Penicillium and floral/fruity aroma compounds.These findings provide new insight into the chemical and microbial signatures of Liupao tea quality deterioration and offer a theoretical basis for early detection and targeted microbial regulation during processing and storage.

Cite this article

WANG Leya , ZHAO Liangliang , XIE He , OU Xingchang , HUANG Jian’an , BAI Silei . Differences and correlation analysis of volatile compounds and microbial communities between normal and deteriorated Liupao tea[J]. Food and Fermentation Industries, 2026 , 52(9) : 135 -145 . DOI: 10.13995/j.cnki.11-1802/ts.043837

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