2017 ASHS Annual Conference

Recently, organic fruits or vegetables receive the increased attention since people are aware of personal health and environment. However, little scientific data have been given for benefits of organic fruits and consumer’s trust. In this study, green tea was cultivated conventionally or organically and their qualities were evaluated with respect to physiochemical properties and physiological functions. Organic green tea showed 13% and 17% higher amounts of total amino acids and chlorophyll, compared to those of conventional one. Organic tea had a 22% and a 12% higher ascorbic acid and total dietary fiber contents, than those of conventional one, respectively. Organic green tea contained slightly higher amount of essential minerals like iron (96 vs 83 ppm), magnesium(0.39 vs 0.34 %), zinc (42 vs 37 ppm), but did no difference in other compounds like sodium and potassium, compared to those of conventional one. For functional characterization, organic green tea had a 27% higher amount of ECG and EGCG (2.1 and 6.75 mg/g DW) but lower amounts of C, EC or EGC (0.28, 0.85 or 2.54 mg/g DW) compared to conventional green tea. There are similar with total phenolic contents between conventional and organic ones. In addition, organic green tea showed higher antioxidant and NO scavenging activities with167 µM of vit C eq. and a 35%, compared to those of conventional green tea with 149 µM of vit C eq. and a 25%, respectively. Overall, those results indicate that organic green tea exhibited better product quality and physiological functions than conventional green tea.

※ This study was financially supported by Rural Development Administration (Project No. PJ01256504) and Jellanamdo Agricultural Research and Extension Services