Tea, made from leaves and shoots of the plant Camellia sinensis, has been used as dietary and medicinal applications for almost 50 centuries. The plant C. sinensis is widely cultivated in more than 45 countries, and more than 4 million metric tons of tea is produced annually. Due to its unique taste, aroma and various health-promoting functions, tea has become one of the most popularly consumed beverages worldwide. Tea is mainly classified into six major categories, including green tea (unfermented), white and yellow teas (slight-fermented), Oolong tea (semi-fermented), black tea (fermented) and dark tea (post-fermented). Asians consume more green and oolong teas, whereas, Europeans and North Americans tend to consume black tea due to mellow flavor and low astringency. In recent decades, dark teas, such as Fuzhuan brick tea and Pu-erh tea, has also become a very popular and widely accepted beverage in China because of its various beneficial functions, especially anti-obesity and hypolipidemic features.
Nowadays, tea has attracted great attention from nutritionists, and lots of encouraging findings about health-promoting functions of tea were extensively obtained. However, there are still some remaining challenges regarding “tea and health” that need to be explored. Thus, this Research Topic focuses on the interaction between tea and our health, and it is expected that this Research Topic could enhance our understanding of the health-promoting functions of tea and further stimulate future research.
In particular, this Research Topic will consider Original Research, Short Communications, and Reviews based on, but not limited to, the following aspects:
? Characterization and potential health-promoting functions of bioactive compounds from tea
? Changes in physicochemical and biological properties during its processing
? Metabolic characteristics and biotransformation of tea by the digestive system and gut microbiota
? Human, animal and cell studies evaluating biological activities of tea and the potential mechanisms involved
? The potential risk of tea on the health
Tea, made from leaves and shoots of the plant Camellia sinensis, has been used as dietary and medicinal applications for almost 50 centuries. The plant C. sinensis is widely cultivated in more than 45 countries, and more than 4 million metric tons of tea is produced annually. Due to its unique taste, aroma and various health-promoting functions, tea has become one of the most popularly consumed beverages worldwide. Tea is mainly classified into six major categories, including green tea (unfermented), white and yellow teas (slight-fermented), Oolong tea (semi-fermented), black tea (fermented) and dark tea (post-fermented). Asians consume more green and oolong teas, whereas, Europeans and North Americans tend to consume black tea due to mellow flavor and low astringency. In recent decades, dark teas, such as Fuzhuan brick tea and Pu-erh tea, has also become a very popular and widely accepted beverage in China because of its various beneficial functions, especially anti-obesity and hypolipidemic features.
Nowadays, tea has attracted great attention from nutritionists, and lots of encouraging findings about health-promoting functions of tea were extensively obtained. However, there are still some remaining challenges regarding “tea and health” that need to be explored. Thus, this Research Topic focuses on the interaction between tea and our health, and it is expected that this Research Topic could enhance our understanding of the health-promoting functions of tea and further stimulate future research.
In particular, this Research Topic will consider Original Research, Short Communications, and Reviews based on, but not limited to, the following aspects:
? Characterization and potential health-promoting functions of bioactive compounds from tea
? Changes in physicochemical and biological properties during its processing
? Metabolic characteristics and biotransformation of tea by the digestive system and gut microbiota
? Human, animal and cell studies evaluating biological activities of tea and the potential mechanisms involved
? The potential risk of tea on the health