| Summary: | Tocklai vegetative (TV) cultivars are extensively planted in the tea-growing regions of Northeast India. The present investigation explores the impact of season on the total polyphenol (TP) content and the antioxidant activity of thirty-one TV cultivars (TV1–TV31) and four other commercially popular cultivars, namely, Betjan, Kharijan, S.3A/3, and T.3E/3. The TP content of the cultivars was observed to be highest in the monsoon season, with values ranging from 230.57 to 283.53 mg g<sup>−1</sup>. In the pre-monsoon season and autumn, the TP content ranged from 197.87 to 256.77 mg g<sup>−1</sup> and from 169.97 to 223.50 mg g<sup>−1</sup>, respectively. Antioxidant activity was measured through DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and lipid peroxidation inhibition assays. The cultivars showed the highest antioxidant activity in the monsoon in tandem with TP content. A bivariate correlation indicated a highly significant (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.01) positive correlation of antioxidant activity with TP content (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.83–0.96).
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