Sweet tea ( rehd.) as a new natural source of bioactive dihydrochalcones with multiple health benefits.

Ao Shang, Hong-Yan Liu, Min Luo, Yu Xia, Xiao Yang, Hang-Yu Li, Ding-Tao Wu, Quancai Sun, Fang Geng, Ren-You Gan

Journal: Critical reviews in food science and nutrition 2022;62(4):917-934

PMID: 33030031

Abstract

Sweet tea ( Rehd.) has been consumed as herbal tea to prevent and manage diabetes for a long time. Recent studies indicate that sweet tea is rich in a variety of bioactive compounds, especially a class of nonclassical flavonoids, dihydrochalcones. In order to provide a better understanding of sweet tea and its main dihydrochalcones on human health, this review mainly summarizes related literature in the recent ten years, with the potential molecular mechanisms emphatically discussed. Phlorizin, phloretin, and trilobatin, three natural sweeteners, are the main dihydrochalcones in sweet tea. In addition, sweet tea and its dihydrochalcones exhibit plenty of health benefits, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, antidiabetic, and anticancer effects, which are associated with the regulation of different molecular targets and signaling pathways. Therefore, sweet tea, as a rare natural source of dihydrochalcones, can be processed and developed into nutraceuticals or functional foods, with the potential application in the prevention and management of certain chronic diseases.

Address: National Agricultural Science & Technology Center, Chengdu, China.; Institute of Urban Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu, China.; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition and Health, Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.; National Agricultural Science & Technology Center, Chengdu, China.; Institute of Urban Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu, China.; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition and Health, Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.; Institute of Food Processing and Safety, College of Food Science, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an, Sichuan, China.; School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China.; Key Laboratory of Coarse Cereal Processing (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs), School of Food and Biological Engineering, Chengdu University, Chengdu, China.; National Agricultural Science & Technology Center, Chengdu, China.; Institute of Urban Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu, China.; Key Laboratory of Coarse Cereal Processing (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs), School of Food and Biological Engineering, Chengdu University, Chengdu, China.

DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2020.1830363

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MeSH Terms: Chalcones, Fagaceae, Humans, Hypoglycemic Agents, Tea