A Comprehensive Insight on the Health Benefits and Phytoconstituents of and Recent Approaches for Its Quality Control

Overview

Journal Antioxidants (Basel)

Date 2019 Oct 9

PMID 31590466

Citations 21

Authors

Maram M Aboulwafa

Fadia S Youssef

Haidy A Gad

Ahmed E Altyar

Mohamed M Al-Azizi

Mohamed L Ashour

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Tea, Camellia sinensis, which belongs to the family Theaceae, is a shrub or evergreen tree up to 16 m in height. Green tea is very popular because of its marked health benefits comprising its anticancer, anti-oxidant, and antimicrobial activities, as well as its effectiveness in reducing body weight. Additionally, it was recognized by Chinese people as an effective traditional drink required for the prophylaxis against many health ailments. This is due to the complex chemical composition of green tea, which comprises different classes of chemical compounds, such as polyphenols, alkaloids, proteins, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, and others. The beneficial health effects of green tea ultimately led to its great consumption and increase its liability to be adulterated by either low-quality or non-green tea products with concomitant decrease in activity. Thus, in this review, green tea was selected to highlight its health benefits and phytoconstituents, as well as recent approaches for its quality-control monitoring that guarantee its incorporation in many pharmaceutical industries. More research is needed to find out other more biological activities, active constituents, and other simple and cheap techniques for its quality assurance that ascertain the prevention of its adulteration.

Citing Articles

Lavandula dentata leaves as potential natural antibiofilm agents against Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Aboulwafa M, Mostafa N, Youssef F, Eldahshan O, Singab A Sci Rep. 2025; 15(1):8540.

PMID: 40074746 PMC: 11903892. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-88824-5.

Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of Camellia sinensis L. extract as a potential therapeutic for atopic dermatitis through NF-κB pathway inhibition.

Kim M, Yang Y, Min G, Heo J, Son J, You Y Sci Rep. 2025; 15(1):2371.

PMID: 39827243 PMC: 11742993. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-86678-5.

Enhancing Antioxidant Benefits of Kombucha Through Optimized Glucuronic Acid by Selected Symbiotic Fermentation Culture.

Chou Y, Lin H, Wang C, Hsieh C, Santoso S, Lin S Antioxidants (Basel). 2024; 13(11).

PMID: 39594465 PMC: 11591427. DOI: 10.3390/antiox13111323.

The potential protective effect of Camellia Sinensis in mitigating monosodium glutamate-induced neurotoxicity: biochemical and histological study in male albino rats.

Abdelhamid W, Mowaad N, Asaad G, Galal A, Mohammed S, Mostafa O Metab Brain Dis. 2024; 39(5):953-966.

PMID: 38869783 PMC: 11233344. DOI: 10.1007/s11011-024-01365-0.

Alternative Crops for the European Tobacco Industry: A Systematic Review.

Mavroeidis A, Stavropoulos P, Papadopoulos G, Tsela A, Roussis I, Kakabouki I Plants (Basel). 2024; 13(2).

PMID: 38256796 PMC: 10818552. DOI: 10.3390/plants13020236.

References

Ali M, Afzal M, GUBLER C, Burka J . A potent thromboxane formation inhibitor in green tea leaves. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 1990; 40(4):281-3. DOI: 10.1016/0952-3278(90)90050-u. View

Satoh K, Sakamoto Y, Ogata A, Nagai F, Mikuriya H, Numazawa M . Inhibition of aromatase activity by green tea extract catechins and their endocrinological effects of oral administration in rats. Food Chem Toxicol. 2002; 40(7):925-33. DOI: 10.1016/s0278-6915(02)00066-2. View

Dyer P, Kotha A, Gollings A, Shorter S, Shepherd T, Pettit M . An in vitro evaluation of epigallocatechin gallate (eGCG) as a biocompatible inhibitor of ricin toxin. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2016; 1860(7):1541-50. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2016.03.024. View

Wasilewski R, Ubara E, Klonizakis M . Assessing the effects of a short-term green tea intervention in skin microvascular function and oxygen tension in older and younger adults. Microvasc Res. 2016; 107:65-71. DOI: 10.1016/j.mvr.2016.05.001. View

Oyama J, Shiraki A, Nishikido T, Maeda T, Komoda H, Shimizu T . EGCG, a green tea catechin, attenuates the progression of heart failure induced by the heart/muscle-specific deletion of MnSOD in mice. J Cardiol. 2016; 69(2):417-427. DOI: 10.1016/j.jjcc.2016.05.019. View

Khan S, Katiyar S, Agarwal R, Mukhtar H . Enhancement of antioxidant and phase II enzymes by oral feeding of green tea polyphenols in drinking water to SKH-1 hairless mice: possible role in cancer chemoprevention. Cancer Res. 1992; 52(14):4050-2. View

Ikigai H, Nakae T, Hara Y, Shimamura T . Bactericidal catechins damage the lipid bilayer. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1993; 1147(1):132-6. DOI: 10.1016/0005-2736(93)90323-r. View

Wang Z, Khan W, Bickers D, Mukhtar H . Protection against polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-induced skin tumor initiation in mice by green tea polyphenols. Carcinogenesis. 1989; 10(2):411-5. DOI: 10.1093/carcin/10.2.411. View

Roychoudhury S, Agarwal A, Virk G, Cho C . Potential role of green tea catechins in the management of oxidative stress-associated infertility. Reprod Biomed Online. 2017; 34(5):487-498. DOI: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2017.02.006. View

10.

Bordoni A, Hrelia S, Angeloni C, Giordano E, Guarnieri C, Caldarera C . Green tea protection of hypoxia/reoxygenation injury in cultured cardiac cells. J Nutr Biochem. 2002; 13(2):103-111. DOI: 10.1016/s0955-2863(01)00203-0. View

11.

Yang T, Koo M . Chinese green tea lowers cholesterol level through an increase in fecal lipid excretion. Life Sci. 2000; 66(5):411-23. DOI: 10.1016/s0024-3205(99)00607-4. View

12.

Lung H, Ip W, Wong C, Mak N, Chen Z, Leung K . Anti-proliferative and differentiation-inducing activities of the green tea catechin epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on the human eosinophilic leukemia EoL-1 cell line. Life Sci. 2002; 72(3):257-68. DOI: 10.1016/s0024-3205(02)02236-1. View

13.

Abdulbaqi H, Himratul-Aznita W, Baharuddin N . Anti-plaque effect of a synergistic combination of green tea and Salvadora persica L. against primary colonizers of dental plaque. Arch Oral Biol. 2016; 70:117-124. DOI: 10.1016/j.archoralbio.2016.06.011. View

14.

Rashidinejad A, Birch E, Hindmarsh J, Everett D . Molecular interactions between green tea catechins and cheese fat studied by solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Food Chem. 2016; 215:228-34. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.07.179. View

15.

Sugita-Konishi Y, Hara-Kudo Y, AMANO F, Okubo T, Aoi N, Iwaki M . Epigallocatechin gallate and gallocatechin gallate in green tea catechins inhibit extracellular release of Vero toxin from enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1999; 1472(1-2):42-50. DOI: 10.1016/s0304-4165(99)00102-6. View

16.

Schulzki G, Nusslein B, Sievers H . Transition rates of selected metals determined in various types of teas (Camellia sinensis L. Kuntze) and herbal/fruit infusions. Food Chem. 2016; 215:22-30. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.07.093. View

17.

Shu W, Zhang Z, Lan C, Wong M . Fluoride and aluminium concentrations of tea plants and tea products from Sichuan Province, PR China. Chemosphere. 2003; 52(9):1475-82. DOI: 10.1016/S0045-6535(03)00485-5. View

18.

McCune L, Johns T . Antioxidant activity in medicinal plants associated with the symptoms of diabetes mellitus used by the indigenous peoples of the North American boreal forest. J Ethnopharmacol. 2002; 82(2-3):197-205. DOI: 10.1016/s0378-8741(02)00180-0. View

19.

Mohamad Shalan N, Mustapha N, Mohamed S . Morinda citrifolia leaf enhanced performance by improving angiogenesis, mitochondrial biogenesis, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory & stress responses. Food Chem. 2016; 212:443-52. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.05.179. View

20.

Liao B, Ying H, Yu C, Fan Z, Zhang W, Shi J . (-)-Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)-nanoethosomes as a transdermal delivery system for docetaxel to treat implanted human melanoma cell tumors in mice. Int J Pharm. 2016; 512(1):22-31. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2016.08.038. View