Journal of Tea Science Research, 2025, Vol.15, No.1, 30-37 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/jtsr 30 Research Insight Open Access Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Tea: A Research Insight Yuhong Huang, Guangman Xu Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Center, Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China Corresponding author: guangman.xu@cuixi.org Journal of Tea Science Research, 2025, Vol.15, No.1 doi: 10.5376/jtsr.2025.15.0004 Received: 05 Jan., 2025 Accepted: 08 Feb., 2025 Published: 22 Feb., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Huang and Xu, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Huang Y.H., and Xu G.M., 2025, Anti-inflammatory properties of tea: a research insight, Journal of Tea Science Research, 15(1): 30-37 (doi: 10.5376/jtsr.2025.15.0004) Abstract Tea (Camellia sinensis), as a global drink and functional food, has attracted more attention to its anti-inflammatory activities over the past few years. The vast prevalence of inflammatory diseases and calls for prevention and control have motivated scientists to explore the nature's anti-inflammatory bioactive compounds in tea and their mechanisms. This study describes the major anti-inflammatory compounds of tea, including tea polyphenols, theaflavins and their derivatives, theanine, caffeine, and polysaccharides and volatile oils, and their molecular mechanisms in regulating oxidative stress, inhibiting inflammatory signaling pathways, modulating cytokine expression, influencing immune cell function, and changing gut microbiota. It is also furthered to provide the most recent advances from animal models, human intervention trials, and in vitro studies, and discusses the promise of tea's anti-inflammatory activity in functional foods, medicinal foods, and dermatological preparations. In the face of challenges like complexity of active ingredients, processing effects, insufficiency of sufficient clinical evidence, and safety of dosage, this review also discusses multi-dimensional research integration and comparative evaluation of different study outcomes, establishing scientific basis for public health and industry pragmatic significance of tea's anti-inflammatory research. This study offers theoretical justification for the production of tea-based natural anti-inflammatory products and directs future experimental and clinical investigation. Keywords Tea; Anti-inflammatory activity; Tea polyphenols; Molecular mechanisms; Functional foods 1 Introduction Tea (Camellia sinensis) is the world's most consumed non-alcoholic beverage, deeply rooted in several cultures and part of daily routine. Its consumption spans continents, with strong popularity in Asia, Europe, and America. The numerous types of tea—green, black, oolong, and white—are varied based on manufacturing processes, but they all possess an impressive portfolio of bioactive compounds. These compounds, including polyphenols like catechins, have been noted for their potential health benefits. Tea drinking on a daily basis has been associated with reduced susceptibility to chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers (Oliveira et al., 2017). Chronic inflammatory diseases are now leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Disorders such as cardiovascular conditions, diabetes, obesity, and neurodegenerative diseases are increasing and are largely linked to chronic low-grade inflammation. Diabetes, for instance, has a prevalence of approximately 463 million individuals worldwide, and the estimate indicates over 700 million individuals by the year 2045. The diseases pose significant public health issues, which necessitate urgent prevention and control measures (Patel et al., 2023). The high levels of polyphenolic compounds, amino acids, and other bioactive molecules present in tea render it a promising natural agent to combat inflammation. The anti-inflammatory activity of tea, particularly of green tea, has been supported by research that demonstrates its rich concentration of catechins like epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). These molecules have been found to modulate inflammatory processes, suppress oxidative stress, and influence immune response, and their possible therapeutic uses in controlling inflammation-related disorders (Tan et al., 2022).
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