Simultaneous determination of five phenylethanoid glycosides in small-leaved Kudingcha from the Ligustrum genus by UPLC/PDA

► Kudingcha as a functional tea has been used in China for a long history. ► No feasible quality control method has been applied to Kudingcha species. ► The method was firstly established and applied to the quality control of the tea. ► The differences among the correct species and the confusions were elucidated. ► The quality of different tea products was evaluated and compared.