Polar lipid composition of the leaves and seeds from the tea plant (Camellia sinensis L)

Thin‐layer chromatography has been used to separate, identify and quantitatively estimate the polar lipids in tea leaves and seeds. Young shoots have been found to contain a higher concentration of phosphatidyl ethanolamine and phosphatidyl choline than older leaves, which have a high concentration of galactolipids. Seeds contain a high concentration of phosphatidyl choline.