Abstract: In this experiment, the kinds and amounts of carotenoids in 37 different varieties of tea leaves were analyzed and compared by using high performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection (HPLC-PDA). A total of 15 carotenoid components were detected. Total amounts in all varieties were 524.6–1 236.7 μg/g, averaging at (863.7 ± 13.5) μg/g; the oolong tea varieties contained the highest amount of carotenoids whereas the lowest amount was observed in the green tea varieties. For all the varieties, lutein was the most abundant carotenoid, followed by quercetin, neoxanthin, β-carotene and zeaxanthin. Principal component analysis showed that the 37 varieties could be divided into three categories: oolong tea, black tea and other varieties. Among them, the oolong tea varieties contained the highest amount of total carotenoids while the black tea varieties contained higher amounts of epoxidized zeaxanthin and zeaxanthin than did any other varieties. The results showed that the contents of carotenoids in tea leaves for different tea varieties were significantly different while tea leaves for the same tea variety had the same carotenoid profile.

Key words: tea varieties, aroma precursors, carotenoids, high performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection