Akebia quinata flower is an excellent potential herbal tea: Chemical quality, bioactivity analysis and metabolite profiles of Akebia quinata flower with different drying methods

Akebia quinata (Houtt.) Decne is a versatile plant with both medicinal and culinary uses. Despite the abundance of A. quinata flowers, they remain underutilised and are often wasted. The effects of different drying methods on the chemical quality, bioactivity and metabolic profiles of A. quinata flo...

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Main Authors: Tianjiao Jia, Mian Faisal Nazir, Tao Zhang, Qiuping Zhu, Jie Xu, Longyu Dai, Yafang Zhao, Shuaiyu Zou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Applied Food Research
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772502225001143
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author Tianjiao Jia
Mian Faisal Nazir
Tao Zhang
Qiuping Zhu
Jie Xu
Longyu Dai
Yafang Zhao
Shuaiyu Zou
author_facet Tianjiao Jia
Mian Faisal Nazir
Tao Zhang
Qiuping Zhu
Jie Xu
Longyu Dai
Yafang Zhao
Shuaiyu Zou
author_sort Tianjiao Jia
collection DOAJ
description Akebia quinata (Houtt.) Decne is a versatile plant with both medicinal and culinary uses. Despite the abundance of A. quinata flowers, they remain underutilised and are often wasted. The effects of different drying methods on the chemical quality, bioactivity and metabolic profiles of A. quinata flowers were compared. Of the three drying methods, microwave drying (MD) had the highest content of phenolics, flavonoids and anthocyanins, the strongest antioxidant capacity. These indices were 1.4–3 times that of those obtained with hot air drying (HD). MD also improved flavor by increasing the concentration of sweet or umami peptides while reducing astringent and bitter compounds. HD and natural drying (ND) retained stronger α-glucoside inhibitory activity and NO inhibitory activity than MD. In general, A. quinata flowers had relatively higher chemical quality and biological activity among the six flower types, highlighting the substantial potential for development as herbal tea. Metabolomic analysis identified 3,902 metabolites, with amino acids, lipids and organic acids being most affected by the drying processes. Considering the quality of the final product, MD was the optimal of the three methods, while ND was suggested to be used in real industrial production due to less energy consumption and economic cost.
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issn 2772-5022
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publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Applied Food Research
spelling doaj-art-5e1731bd135f4b4b86eaac7b166912612025-08-20T03:20:12ZengElsevierApplied Food Research2772-50222025-06-015110080410.1016/j.afres.2025.100804Akebia quinata flower is an excellent potential herbal tea: Chemical quality, bioactivity analysis and metabolite profiles of Akebia quinata flower with different drying methodsTianjiao Jia0Mian Faisal Nazir1Tao Zhang2Qiuping Zhu3Jie Xu4Longyu Dai5Yafang Zhao6Shuaiyu Zou7Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Resources Innovation and Genetic Improvement, Lushan Botanical Garden, Jiangxi Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang 332900, ChinaJiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Resources Innovation and Genetic Improvement, Lushan Botanical Garden, Jiangxi Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang 332900, ChinaJiangxi Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Chinese Materia Medica Resources, Lushan Botanical Garden, Jiangxi Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang 332900, ChinaJiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Wetland Plant Resources Conservation and Utilization, Lushan Botanical Garden, Jiangxi Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang 332900, ChinaJiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Resources Innovation and Genetic Improvement, Lushan Botanical Garden, Jiangxi Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang 332900, ChinaJiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Resources Innovation and Genetic Improvement, Lushan Botanical Garden, Jiangxi Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang 332900, ChinaJiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Resources Innovation and Genetic Improvement, Lushan Botanical Garden, Jiangxi Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang 332900, ChinaJiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Resources Innovation and Genetic Improvement, Lushan Botanical Garden, Jiangxi Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang 332900, China; Corresponding author.Akebia quinata (Houtt.) Decne is a versatile plant with both medicinal and culinary uses. Despite the abundance of A. quinata flowers, they remain underutilised and are often wasted. The effects of different drying methods on the chemical quality, bioactivity and metabolic profiles of A. quinata flowers were compared. Of the three drying methods, microwave drying (MD) had the highest content of phenolics, flavonoids and anthocyanins, the strongest antioxidant capacity. These indices were 1.4–3 times that of those obtained with hot air drying (HD). MD also improved flavor by increasing the concentration of sweet or umami peptides while reducing astringent and bitter compounds. HD and natural drying (ND) retained stronger α-glucoside inhibitory activity and NO inhibitory activity than MD. In general, A. quinata flowers had relatively higher chemical quality and biological activity among the six flower types, highlighting the substantial potential for development as herbal tea. Metabolomic analysis identified 3,902 metabolites, with amino acids, lipids and organic acids being most affected by the drying processes. Considering the quality of the final product, MD was the optimal of the three methods, while ND was suggested to be used in real industrial production due to less energy consumption and economic cost.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772502225001143Akebia quinata flowerHerbal teaDrying methodChemical qualityBioactivityMetabolomic analysis
spellingShingle Tianjiao Jia
Mian Faisal Nazir
Tao Zhang
Qiuping Zhu
Jie Xu
Longyu Dai
Yafang Zhao
Shuaiyu Zou
Akebia quinata flower is an excellent potential herbal tea: Chemical quality, bioactivity analysis and metabolite profiles of Akebia quinata flower with different drying methods
Applied Food Research
Akebia quinata flower
Herbal tea
Drying method
Chemical quality
Bioactivity
Metabolomic analysis
title Akebia quinata flower is an excellent potential herbal tea: Chemical quality, bioactivity analysis and metabolite profiles of Akebia quinata flower with different drying methods
title_full Akebia quinata flower is an excellent potential herbal tea: Chemical quality, bioactivity analysis and metabolite profiles of Akebia quinata flower with different drying methods
title_fullStr Akebia quinata flower is an excellent potential herbal tea: Chemical quality, bioactivity analysis and metabolite profiles of Akebia quinata flower with different drying methods
title_full_unstemmed Akebia quinata flower is an excellent potential herbal tea: Chemical quality, bioactivity analysis and metabolite profiles of Akebia quinata flower with different drying methods
title_short Akebia quinata flower is an excellent potential herbal tea: Chemical quality, bioactivity analysis and metabolite profiles of Akebia quinata flower with different drying methods
title_sort akebia quinata flower is an excellent potential herbal tea chemical quality bioactivity analysis and metabolite profiles of akebia quinata flower with different drying methods
topic Akebia quinata flower
Herbal tea
Drying method
Chemical quality
Bioactivity
Metabolomic analysis
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772502225001143
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