[Objective] This study aimed to establish a pre-column derivatization HPLC method for the identification and analysis of monosaccharide composition of Pu-erh tea polysaccharide. [Method] Pu-erh tea polysaccharide was extracted using the wa- ter extraction method, further isolated and purified by DEAE cellulose-52 columns. The obtained tea polysaccharide and four components TPS1, TPS2, TPS3 and TPS, were first derived by 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone (PMP), and then the PMP derivatives of monosaccharide were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatog- raphy (HPLC). [Result] Pu-erh tea polysaccharide contained eight kinds of monosac- chaddes (mannose, rhamnose, glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, grucose, galactose, arabinose, fucose), without xylose; so it was the same with TPS1; each of TPS2, TPS3 and TPS4 contained seven monosaccharides, while no fucose. [Conclusion] This method is simplified and rapid, which can be used to determine the monosac- charide composition of Pu-erh tea polysaccharide and monosaccharide content.
[Objective] This study aimed to optimize the extraction process parameters of Pu-erh tea polysaccharide. [Method] Single-factor experiment was carried out to analyze the influences of three main factors, including extraction temperature, ex- traction duration and solid-liquid ratio, on the extraction yield of tea polysaccharide. Box-Behnken central composite design and response surface methodology were adopted to determine the optimal extraction process of Pu-erh tea polysaccharide. [Result] The results of response surface analysis showed that the optimal extraction process was solid-liquid ratio of 1:17, extraction temperature of 80 ℃ and extraction duration of 78.5 min, and the Pu-erh tea polysaccharide yield was 12.72%. [Conclu- sion] Using response surface methodology (RSM) is feasible for the optimization of Pu-erh tea polysaccharide extraction process, and the tea polysaccharide yield increased significantly.