Geographical origin of imported and domestic teas (Camellia sinensis) from Turkey as determined by stable isotope signatures

Figures & data

Table 1. Isotope ratios of C, N, and H in tea extracts.

No	Location	GPS Coordinates		Origin	δ^13C	δ^15N	δD
1	Kalkandere/Rize	40.928907 N	40.439113 E	Domestic	−29.06 ± 0.07^jkl	1.71 ± 0.08^ef	61.4 ± 0.8^ghi
2	Salarha/Rize	40.974542 N	40.530693 E	Domestic	−28.30 ± 0.03^ghij	1.4 ± 0.4^ef	62.1 ± 0.2g
3	Ortapazar/Rize	40.978302 N	40.472194 E	Domestic	−28.4 ± 0.3^ghijk	2.42 ± 0.10^def	61.9 ± 0.7^gh
4	Arhavi/Artvin	41.351617 N	41.305218 E	Domestic	−28.5 ± 0.2^hijkl	2.60 ± 0.06^cde	61.7 ± 0.3^ghi
5	Sürmene/Trabzon	40.911914 N	40.134416 E	Domestic	−28.31 ± 0.02^ghij	2.1 ± 0.3^def	61.6 ± 0.1^ghi
6	Iyidere/Rize	40.991840 N	40.332580 E	Domestic	−28.34 ± 0.03^ghij	2.40 ± 0.02^def	61.4 ± 0.8^ghi
7	Eskipazar/Trabzon	40.961717 N	40.294345 E	Domestic	−28.13 ± 0.03^fgh	1.1 ± 0.2^f	61.2 ± 0.1^hi
8	Fındıklı/Rize	41.260651 N	41.130355 E	Domestic	−28.944 ± 0.003^ijkl	2.5 ± 0.5^de	61.0 ± 0.3^ijk
9	Araklı/Trabzon	40.931289 N	40.063209 E	Domestic	−28.43 ± 0.09^ghijkl	2.7 ± 0.67^cde	59.3 ± 0.8^no
10	Cayeli/Rize	41.081986 N	40.708144 E	Domestic	−28.7 ± 0.3^hijkl	1.67 ± 0.03^ef	59.74 ± 0.09^lmn
11	Tirebolu/Giresun	41.005680 N	38.847362 E	Domestic	−28.5 ± 0.2^hijkl	3 ± 1^cde	60.49 ± 0.03^jlk
12	Cumhuriyet/Rize	41.044447 N	40.587704 E	Domestic	−28.7 ± 0.3^hijkl	2.2 ± 0.8^def	59.6 ± 0.3^mno
13	Hopa/Artvin	41.388817 N	41.414003 E	Domestic	−29.1 ± 0.1^kl	1.4 ± 0.1^ef	58.4 ± 0.4^qp
14	Pazar/Rize	41.182981 N	40.900250 E	Domestic	−29.177 ± 0.009^l	3 ± 1^bcd	58.8 ± 0.3°^p
15	Derepazarı/Rize	41.024623 N	40.426618 E	Domestic	−28.9 ± 0.2^ijkl	3 ± 1^cde	57.7 ± 0.2^q
16	Ardesen/Rize	41.189927 N	40.974819 E	Domestic	−29.12 ± 0.04^kl	2 ± 2^def	56.5 ± 0.3^r
17	Indian			Imported	−28.18 ± 0.01^ghi	4.1 ± 0.2^ab	64.7 ± 0.3^f
18	Sri Lanka			Imported	−27.204 ± 0.006^cd	4.7 ± 0.6^a	65.7 ± 0.9^e
19	Indonesia			Imported	−27.21 ± 0.03^cd	3.4 ± 0.2^bcd	60.2 ± 0.4^klm
20	Kenya			Imported	−28 ± 1^defg	3.9 ± 0.4^abc	72 ± 1^a
21	Kenya			Imported	−26.62 ± 0.05^bc	5.2 ± 0.8^a	70.7 ± 0.5^b
22	Sri Lanka			Imported	−27.4 ± 0.8^de	4.5 ± 0.5^ab	67.9 ± 0.3^c
23	Sri Lanka			Imported	−28.06 ± 0.02^defg	4.2 ± 0.3^ab	66.1 ± 0.4^de
24	Sri Lanka			Imported	−28.44 ± 0.02^hijkl	2.4 ± 0.3^def	66.8 ± 0.4^d
25	China			Imported	−27 ± 1^def	3.35 ± 0.02^bcd	65.3 ± 0.1^ef
26	China			Imported	−26.4 ± 0.7^b	4.1 ± 0.3^ab	66.1 ± 0.3^de
27	China			Imported	−25.6 ± 0.2^a	2.3 ± 0.9^def	59.3 ± 0.1^no

Values are presented as means ± standard deviations (n = 3). For each parameter, different letters within a row indicate difference between cultivars with Duncan’s multiple range test (p < 0.05).

Figure 1. Sampling locations of domestic teas collected from different districts of Turkey. 1, Kalkandere; 2, Salarha; 3, Ortapazar; 4, Arhavi; 5, Sürmene; 6, Iyidere; 7, Eskipazar; 8, Fındıklı; 9, Araklı; 10, Cayeli; 11, Tirebolu; 12, Cumhuriyet; 13, Hopa; 14, Pazar; 15, Derepazarı; 16, Ardeşen.

Table 2. The range, mean, and median isotope ratios obtained in domestic and imported tea samples.

	Domestic			Imported
Isotopes	Range	Mean	Median	Range	Mean	Median
δ^13C	−29.18 ↔ −28.13	−28.7 ± 0.3	−28.62	−28.44 ↔ −25.66	−27.3 ± 0.8	−27.41
δ^15N	1.08 ↔ 3.19	2.2 ± 0.6	2.39	2.35 ↔ 5.15	3.8 ± 0.9	4.11
δD	56.54 ↔ 62.14	60 ± 2	60.74	59.33 ↔ 72.24	66 ± 4	66.12

Figure 2. Scatter plot of the isotope ratios of C, N, and H, showing separation between domestic (●) and imported tea samples (■).

Figure 3. Scatter plot of the first two principal components (PC1-2) showing separation between domestic (●) and imported tea samples (■).

Figure 4. Dendrogram of cluster analysis.