Widely targeted metabolomics and HPLC analysis elaborated the quality formation of Yunnan pickled tea during the whole process at an industrial scale.

This study focuses on widely targeted metabolomics and hplc analysis elaborated the quality formation of yunnan pickled tea during the whole process at an industrial scale.. The research employs high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) techniques to address analytical challenges in the food safety field. Yunnan pickled tea is produced from fresh tea-leaves through fixation, rolling, anaerobic fermentation and sun-drying. In this study, widely targeted metabolomics using UHPLC-QQQ-MS/MS and HPLC analysis were carried out to elaborate its quality formation during the whole process. Results confirmed the contribution of preliminary treatments and anaerobic fermentation to the... Research Background and Significance The production of Yunnan pickled tea, a traditional fermented tea product from China, involves complex biochemical transformations through multiple industrial processing steps, including fixation, rolling, anaerobic fermentation, and sun-drying. Understanding the quality formation during these stages is critical for ensuring product consistency, safety, and consumer acceptance. Widely targeted metabolomics coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) techniques provides a powerful approach to comprehensively characterize the dynamic changes in metabolites throughout the production process. This study leverages advanced chromatographic and mass spectrometric methods to elucidate the biochemical pathways influencing tea quality, thereby addressing crucial food safety and quality control challenges in the tea industry. The integration of UHPLC-QQQ-MS/MS with validated HPLC analyses enables detailed profiling of key metabolites, offering insights into the impacts of processing parameters on the final product's chemical composition and safety profi