LC-MS and GC–MS based metabolomics analysis revealed the impact of tea trichomes on the chemical and flavor characteristics of white tea

To explore the influence of tea trichomes on the quality of white tea, liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-Q-TOF-MS), and headspace solid phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC–MS) were used to identify non-volatile and volatile compounds white tea without trichomes (WTwt) and pure trichomes (PT). It was found that the bitter and astringent compounds, caffeine (CAF), epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epicatechin gallate (ECG) and flavonol glycosides, were mainly enriched in the WTwt, with 16.3-fold, 47.1-fold and 28.7-fold decrease in CAF and EGCG and ECG, respectively, and the content of these compounds in PT were lower than the taste thresholds. In PT, kaempferol-3-O-(p-coumaroyl)-glucoside and kaempferol-3-O-(di-p-coumaroyl)-glucoside were non-volatile marker compounds, and decanal was significant aroma contributor with rOAV = 250.86. Moreover, the compounds in trichomes mainly contributed to the fruity and floral aroma of white tea, among which benzyl alcohol, (E)-geranylacetone, decanal, dodecanal and 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one were the crucial aroma components, which were 2.1, 1.7, 1.8, 1.4 and 2.2 times as much as the WTwt in the PT, respectively. In conclusion, trichomes can improve the quality of white tea by reducing the bitterness and astringency, increasing the umami, as well as enhancing the fruity and floral aromas.