贡眉与牡丹白茶的代谢组学分析和抗氧化活性研究

s one of the six traditional tea categories in China, white tea possesses various pharmacological activities and health-promoting effects. However, the relationship between its chemical composition and biological activity remains incompletely understood. In this study, both untargeted and targeted metabolomics approaches-combining HS-SPME/GC-MS and UPLC-MS/MS-were employed to systematically analyze the volatile and non-volatile chemical constituents of two types of white tea, Gongmei (GM) and Mudan (MD), along with an evaluation of their in vitro antioxidant activities. The results showed that GM contained higher levels of total polyphenols and most amino acids compared to MD. A total of 1,963 metabolites were identified through untargeted metabolomics, among which 119 showed significant differences between GM and MD. These differential metabolites were mainly enriched in flavonoids (38), phenolic acids and their derivatives (22), and terpenoids (11). Targeted flavonoid analysis further validated the differences in key flavonoid components between the two teas. In vitro antioxidant assays (DPPH, ABTS, FRAP) demonstrated strong antioxidant capacities in both GM and MD, with GM exhibiting superior activity. Correlation analysis revealed that specific flavonoids were closely associated with antioxidant activity. This study elucidates the major metabolic differences between GM and MD white teas and links these differences to their antioxidant properties, providing a theoretical basis for the high-value utilization of white tea resources.