Varietal Differences in the Environmental Behavior of ¹⁴C-Caffeine in Tea Plants: Accumulation, Subcellular Distribution, and Metabolism.

ABSTRACT: Caffeine contamination in water sources raises concerns about its transfer to agricultural products and potential risks to human health through the food chain. Despite these concerns, limited research has focused on the accumulation and distribution of exogenous caffeine in tea plants. This study explored the uptake, translocation, targeted accumulation, subcellular distribution, and preliminary metabolism of ¹⁴C-labeled caffeine in a hydroponic tea seedling system. After 192 h of cultivation, more than 83.8% of the caffeine had been removed from the nutrient solution. Within the plants, ¹⁴C-caffeine and its metabolites predominantly accumulated in the roots. Subcellular analysis indicates that in root cells, ¹⁴C was mainly distributed in the soluble fracti

SUBMITTER: Chen Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11851553 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature