Abstract: To evaluate the potential of tree peony (Paeonia suffruticosa) and herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora) germplasm resources for flower tea development and to enrich the variety of flower tea products, 15 tree peony cultivars and 17 herbaceous peony cultivars were selected, and their buds, flowers, and petals were separately processed into flower tea. The color parameters of tea, together with the sensory evaluation, nutritional composition and antioxidant capacity of tea infusion, were analyzed. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to comprehensively assess flower tea quality based on 12 quality-related variables. The results showed that the overall quality of peony and herbaceous peony flower teas differed significantly among cultivars (P < 0.05). In general, both types of flower teas were rich in vitamin C, reducing sugars, soluble proteins, polyphenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanins, exhibiting strong antioxidant capacity and high nutritional value. Correlation analysis and PCA revealed that total phenolic and total flavonoid contents were correlated with antioxidant activities. Significant correlations were observed among several measured parameters (P < 0.05), indicating that different bioactive compounds greatly contribute to the antioxidant capacity of flower teas. In tree and herbaceous peony flower teas, total phenolic contents ranged from 10 to 70 mg/g and from 20 to 200 mg/g, and total flavonoid contents ranged from 30 to 230 mg/g and from 50 to 300 mg/g, respectively. Clear differentiation was observed among flower parts. Petal, flower bud, and whole flower teas showed the strongest antioxidant activities in ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), 2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical cation, and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assays, respectively. Comprehensive quality scores indicated that the tree peony cultivars ‘Haihuang’, ‘Liuliguanzhu’, and ‘Yapianzi’ were optimal for processing into petal tea, ‘Haihuang’, ‘Yapianzi’, ‘Mochijinhui’ were more suitable for processing into whole-flower tea, while ‘Dahongbaozhu’, ‘Haihuang’, and ‘Liuliguanzhu’ were more suitable for processing into bud tea. Among the herbaceous peony cultivars, ‘Hongyanfeishuang’, ‘Yanzixiangyang’, and ‘Hongfengzhanchi’ were the best cultivars for petal tea, ‘Yanzixiangyang’, ‘Canglong’, and ‘Dahongpao’ were optimal for flower tea, while ‘Dahongpao’, ‘Hongguangqijin’, and ‘Masha’ exhibited the best bud tea quality. These findings provide a scientific basis and reference for the cultivar selection and resource utilization of tree peony and herbaceous peony flower teas.

Key words: Paeonia suffruticosa; Paeonia lactiflora; flower tea quality; cultivar selection