Green Tea - Its Chemical Constituents and Health Benefits

Abstract

With the rapidly changing lifestyle of the people in the present scenario there is an increase in various metabolic disorders affecting vital organs of the body. The advancement in the food processing sector due to the continuous efforts of the scientists has led to the acceptance of functional foods among the consumer. These Nutraceuticals act both as a food and medicine in the body. Green tea is one such Nutraceuticals which has immense potential in the treatment of several diseases as has been reported by studies. The health benefit of green tea is due to catechin, particularly (-)epigallocatechin-3-gallate which is reported to have positive impact on the individual. In particular it is a good source of antioxidants and prevents chain reactions which cause cellular damage in the body. In this review paper, there is an elaborate description of green tea, its chemical constituents and the effect of it on several metabolic diseases like obesity, cancer, arthritis and so on.

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“…These catechins are responsible for the antioxidant property of tea 22 . Catechin synthesis is done using malonic acid-and shikimic acid metabolic pathways 23 . Since high amount of gallic acid is also present in the tea, it is derived as an intermediary product during shikimic acid pathway 20, 23 .…”

“…Alkaloids such as caffeine and theobromine are also found. Caffeine is mainly a trimethyl derivative of purine 2, 6-diol 23 . The amount of caffeine found in purple tea is lower than other varieties of tea such as green and black tea.…”