Abstract
While beneficial health properties of tea leaves have been extensively studied, less attention is paid to the flowers of tea. In this study, the anti-inflammatory effects of hot water extract of tea (Camellia sinensis) flowers were investigated. Pharmacological studies found that administration of tea flowers extract (TFE) could effectively inhibit croton oil-induced ear edema and carrageenin-induced paw edema. Furthermore, administration of TFE also protected against Propionibacterium acnes (P. ances) plus lipopolysaccharide-(LPS-) induced liver inflammation by reversing the histologic damage and plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) increase. Moreover, the levels of nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor-(TNF)-α and interleukin-(IL-) 1β mRNA in mouse liver were markedly suppressed after treatment with TFE in mice with immunological liver inflammation. These results indicated that tea flowers had potent anti-inflammatory effects on acute and immunological inflammation in vivo, and may be used as a functional natural food.
Highlights
Tea (Camellia sinensis) is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world, which contains a large quantity of polyphenols and alkaloids
It is noteworthy that most reports on the Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity beneficial effects of tea flowers have been obtained from in vitro studies and more detailed investigations are required to explore in vivo situations
It is believed that the health benefit of tea are mainly attributed to its antioxidant properties and the ability of its polyphenolic catechins to scavenge reactive oxygen species [20]
Summary
Tea (Camellia sinensis) is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world, which contains a large quantity of polyphenols and alkaloids. Tea flower possess a pleasant bitter taste which persist in the mouth after drinking. It has been considered and widely used as a folk herb to treat a variety of inflammatory diseases for several centuries. Previous study have demonstrated that tea flower extracts exhibited strong hydroxyl radical scavenging effects in the Fenton reaction system and nitric oxide suppressing effects in LPS-induced Raw 264.7 cells [8]. It is noteworthy that most reports on the Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity beneficial effects of tea flowers have been obtained from in vitro studies and more detailed investigations are required to explore in vivo situations. We examine the anti-inflammatory effect of a crude tea flower extract on acute inflammation and P. acnes plus LPSinduced liver inflammation in mice
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