Unleashing The Power of Tea Flavonoids - Two Decades of Research

Abstract

Tea Flavonoids are ubiquitous secondary metabolites with a multitude of biological properties. Flavones, flavonols, flavanols, anthocyanins and proanthocyanins are the main classes of flavonoids present in the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. In both green and black tea flavanols (flavan-3-ols)popularly known as catechins play a vital role in imparting taste, colour, astringency and a plethora of health-promoting effects. Considering the amount and variety of metabolites present in the tea plant could indeed be called a natural products laboratory.