Abstract
Seven-day-old Jasmine rice seedling leaves contain a significant amount of bioactive compounds. In this study, we examined metabolite variation and bioactive compounds in leaves subjected to freeze-drying and sun-drying processes. Using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry and headspace gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, we identified luteolin 6-C-glucoside and chrysoeriol 6-C-glucoside as major flavones, and potential bioactive markers. The maximum extractable total hydrolyzed flavones reached approximately 4.70 ± 1.15 mg/g dry weight with hot water at 90°C for 360 s after three extractions of sun-dried tea leaves, which was significantly different from that of the ethanolic extracts (5.90 ± 0.19 mg/g dry weight). Sun-dried tea leaves exhibited a greater relative abundance of predominant volatile compounds, such as 2-methylbutanal, dodecane, 2-ethylfuran, and methylpyrazine, enhancing consumer appeal in tea infusions. We introduce jasmine rice seedling leaf tea as a health-beneficial drink that contains abundant bioactive compounds.