Awa-bancha is a post-fermented tea produced in Naka and Kamikatsu, Tokushima, Japan. We investigated the lactic acid bacteria in each stage of production of Awa-bancha and evaluated the relationships with the components. Lactic acid bacteria were isolated from tea leaves cultured with de Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe (MRS) agar plates, and the species were identified by homology of the 16 S rRNA gene and multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the recA gene to distinguish the Lactobacillus plantarum group. As a result, a variety of species were isolated from the raw tea leaves, and Lactobacillus pentosus was isolated most frequently after anaerobic fermentation. Regarding the tea leaf components, organic acids, such as lactic acid, increased, free amino acids decreased, and catechins changed owing to anaerobic fermentation. Our results suggest that the microbial flora mainly composed of L. pentosus is important in the anaerobic fermentation process for flavor formation of Awa-bancha.

Awa-bancha是在日本德岛的Naka和Kamikatsu生产的一种后发酵茶。我们调查了Awa-bancha生产的每个阶段中的乳酸菌，并评估了与成分的关系。从用De Man，Rogosa和Sharpe（MRS）琼脂板培养的茶叶中分离乳酸菌，并通过16 S rRNA基因的同源性和recA基因的多重聚合酶链反应（PCR）进行鉴定的植物乳杆菌组。结果，从生茶叶和戊糖乳杆菌中分离出各种物种。厌氧发酵后最常被分离。关于茶叶成分，由于厌氧发酵，乳酸等有机酸增加，游离氨基酸减少，儿茶素改变。我们的结果表明，主要由戊糖乳杆菌组成的微生物菌群在厌氧发酵过程中对阿波板茶的风味形成很重要。