Hongyacha, a new type of wild tea plant from the mountains of southern China, contains little or no caffeine, according to a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

根据一篇发布在《农业与食品化学期刊》上的研究，一种在中国南方山区发现的新品种野生茶，只含很少的咖啡因，有的甚至不含；这种茶被称为洪崖茶。

“Hongyacha is a wild tea plant only distributed in the narrow mountain area at altitudes of 2,300-3,300 feet (700-1,000 m) of several neighboring villages in the southern region of Fujian Province,” said lead author Dr. Liang Chen from China’s Tea Research Institute and colleagues.

该论文的主要作者是来自中国茶叶研究所的Liang Chen博士，Chen博士及其同事说：“洪崖茶这种野生茶树只在福建省南方山区很窄的一个村落带附近生长，海拔700-1000米。”

“Local people believe that drinking this tea can reduce internal heat, cure colds, and heal stomach pains, etc.”

“当地人相信喝这种茶能够去内热、治疗感冒、治胃痛等等。”

“However, given its narrow and special distribution, detailed¹ information about hongyacha is lacking.”

“不过，受限于它狭窄且特殊的生长区域，现在有关洪崖茶的详细信息还比较少。”

In the new study, Dr. Chen and co-authors characterized the chemical components² of hongyacha by using high-performance liquid chromatography.

在新的研究中，Chen博士与其他几位联合作者运用高性能的色谱分析法确定了洪崖茶的化学成分。

They found that buds and leaves of hongyacha contain several potentially health-promoting compounds and virtually no caffeine.

他们发现洪崖茶的芽和叶含有多种可能对健康有益的化合物，并且几乎不含咖啡因。

Digging deeper, the team found that hongyacha has a mutation³ in the gene encoding the enzyme⁴ tea caffeine synthase, which promotes caffeine production in most tea plants.

在更深入的研究之后，团队发现洪崖茶的一个基因发生了变异，这个基因正是编码茶叶咖啡因合成酶的基因，在大部分茶种种这个基因都会促进茶树分泌咖啡因。

“Naturally low-caffeine hongyacha could possibly become a popular drink because of its distinct composition and unique health benefits,” the scientists said.

这些科学家们说：“考虑到它独特的成分和保健功效，洪崖茶这种天然的低咖啡因茶或许能成为一种流行的饮品。”