Abstract
Tea (Camellia sinensis) is an important crop, and its leaves are used to make the most widely consumed beverage, aside from water. People have been using leaves from tea plants to make teas for a long time. However, less attention has been paid to the flowers of tea plants, which is a waste of an abundant resource. In the past 15 years, researchers have attempted to discover, identify, and evaluate functional molecules from tea flowers, and have made insightful and useful discoveries. Here, we summarize the recent investigations into these functional molecules in tea flowers, including functional molecules similar to those in tea leaves, as well as the preponderant functional molecules in tea flowers. Tea flowers contain representative metabolites similar to those of tea leaves, such as catechins, flavonols, caffeine, and amino acids. The preponderant functional molecules in tea flowers include saponins, polysaccharides, aromatic compounds, spermidine derivatives, and functional proteins. We also review the safety and biological functions of tea flowers. Tea flower extracts are proposed to be of no toxicological concern based on evidence from the evaluation of mutagenicity, and acute and subchronic toxicity in rats. The presence of many functional metabolites in tea flowers indicates that tea flowers possess diverse biological functions, which are mostly related to catechins, polysaccharides, and saponins. Finally, we discuss the potential for, and challenges facing, future applications of tea flowers as a second resource from tea plants.
Highlights
Tea (Camellia sinensis) is an important crop in over 30 countries, including China, Japan, India, and Kenya
We summarize the recent investigations into these functional molecules in tea flowers, including functional molecules similar to those in tea leaves and the preponderant functional molecules in tea flowers, as well as the safety and biological functions of tea flowers
Matsuda et al summarized that saponins of tea flowers show multiple biological functions, including antihyperlipidemic and antihyperglycemic effects, gastromucosal protection, antiallergic effects in vitro, antiobesity effects, effects on gastric emptying in mice, and the acceleration of gastrointestinal transit [33]
Summary
Tea (Camellia sinensis) is an important crop in over 30 countries, including China, Japan, India, and Kenya. Tea leaves are generally used to make the most widely consumed beverage, aside from water. The beverages made from tea leaves possess characteristic tastes and flavors, and have many health. The most utilized part of the tea plant is the leaves. Since the application of asexual propagation to tea plants, tea flowers have become a “waste resource”, competing with tea leaves for water and nutrients. To promote the yield and quality of tea leaves, some chemicals, such as ethephon and α-naphthalene acetic acid, have been used to suppress tea plant blossoming [4], which generally occurs from September to December. The tea flower yield is 3000–12,000 kg/year/hectare tea plantation. After removing tea flowers, the yield and quality of tea leaves are enhanced by ~30% the year
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
