Plants of the genus Rosa (family Rosaceae) are widely distributed in many countries around the world and have high ornamental, food, and medicinal values. Previous investigations have shown that plants of the genus Rosa are rich in volatile, polyphenols and polysaccharides, and possess many pharmacological activities such as anxiolytic, antioxidant and anticoagulant. To date, various rose extracts have been commonly used as functional additives in many foods and daily chemical products. As an everyday beverage, rose tea has been gaining more and more favor with people, especially among women.
Among them, Rosa. rugosa and Rose. rugosa f. plena are the main materials for making rose tea in China and are cultivated on a large scale in the Kushui and Pingyin areas of China, respectively. Therefore, those two species are also known in China as Kuishui Rose (KSR) and Pinying Rose (PYR), based on the names of their production areas. Furthermore, another rare species, Rosa forrestiana Bouleng, known as Jinbian Rose (JBR), is only distributed and grown in Yunnan, China, and has recently been used as one of the ingredients for making rose tea in China.

For the first time, the researchers investigated the chemical constituents and antioxidant activities of three species of rose tea infusions in China. The results found that all three varieties of rose tea infusion produced antioxidant effects (as shown below). The analysis of correlation coefficients revealed that polysaccharides and total polyphenols were the main antioxidants in the rose tea infusion. This study not only provided a basic study for the constituents and antioxidant activities of rose teas but also a research idea for the establishment of a better-quality standard for rose tea.Plants of the genus Rosa (family Rosaceae) are widely distributed in many countries around the world and have high ornamental, food, and medicinal values. Previous investigations have shown that plants of the genus Rosa are rich in volatile, polyphenols and polysaccharides, and possess many pharmacological activities such as anxiolytic, antioxidant and anticoagulant. To date, various rose extracts have been commonly used as functional additives in many foods and daily chemical products. As an everyday beverage, rose tea has been gaining more and more favor with people, especially among women.

Among them, Rosa. rugosa and Rose. rugosa f. plena are the main materials for making rose tea in China and are cultivated on a large scale in the Kushui and Pingyin areas of China, respectively. Therefore, those two species are also known in China as Kuishui Rose (KSR) and Pinying Rose (PYR), based on the names of their production areas. Furthermore, another rare species, Rosa forrestiana Bouleng, known as Jinbian Rose (JBR), is only distributed and grown in Yunnan, China, and has recently been used as one of the ingredients for making rose tea in China.

For the first time, the researchers investigated the chemical constituents and antioxidant activities of three species of rose tea infusions in China. The results found that all three varieties of rose tea infusion produced antioxidant effects (as shown below). The analysis of correlation coefficients revealed that polysaccharides and total polyphenols were the main antioxidants in the rose tea infusion. This study not only provided a basic study for the constituents and antioxidant activities of rose teas but also a research idea for the establishment of a better-quality standard for rose tea.

Qin, H., Deng, X. Q., Li, B. C., Dai, W. F., Jiao, S. Y., Qin, Y., & Zhang, M. (2018). Volatiles, polysaccharides and total polyphenols in Chinese rose tea infusions and their antioxidant activities. Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, 42(1), e13323. [Link]