Vegetos

Abstract

Fresh shoots (two leaves and a bud) of Kangra tea collected at seven day intervals throughout the plucking seasons (April to Octo-ber) during three consecutive years. In fresh tea shoots the variations in the levels of total poly-phenols in the range: 124.800 to 207.600gkg-1 (2006), 192.421 to 304.144gkg-1 (2007), 131.842 to 231.750gkg-1 (2008); and total catechins in the range: 60.070 to 163. 900gkg-1 (2006), 65.557 to 146.808gkg-1 (2007), 59.710 to 80.122gkg-1 (2008); were significant throughout the plucking seasons. Correlations among total polyphenols, total catechins and six weather pa-rameters were worked out. The catechins con-tent of tea powders obtained by lyophilizing aqueous extracts of fresh tea shoots always var-ied in the order (−)-epigallocatechin gallate > (−)-epigallocatechin > (−)-epicatechin > (+)-catechin. Tea powders of summer season had higher levels of total catechins, (+)-catechin, (−)-epicatechin and (−)-epigallocatechin compared to rest of the plucking seasons.