Antimicrobial Activities of Tea Polyphenol on Phytopathogens: A Review

Abstract

The use of natural antimicrobial compounds in crop production has gained much attention from consumers and the agricultural industry. Consequently, interest in more natural, non-synthetic antimicrobials as potential alternatives to conventional chemical pesticides to combat phytopathogens has heightened. Tea polyphenol (TP), a unique and highly important functional component of tea plants, has been reported to possess antimicrobial properties against a wide spectrum of plant pathogens. The aim of this review is to discuss the emerging findings on the mechanisms of antimicrobial action, and the antimicrobial properties of TP, including their major components, effectiveness, and synergistic effects. More studies, particularly field studies, are still necessary to establish conclusive evidence for the effectiveness of TP against phytopathogens. However, the basic conclusion from existing studies suggests that TP is a potential antimicrobial agent for pesticide reduction in agricultural systems.

Beneficial Properties of Green Tea Catechins

“…From a chemical point of view, green tea has a protein content of about 15-20%, which include amino acids such as L-theanine [10], tyrosine, tryptophan, threonine, 5-N-ethylglutamine, glutamic acid, serine, glycine, valine, leucine, aspartic acid, lysine and arginine. It also contains trace elements such as magnesium, chromium, manganese, calcium, copper, zinc, iron, selenium, sodium cobalt or nickel, and carbohydrates such as glucose, cellulose and sucrose [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]20,21]. In addition, green tea is rich in sterols and lipids-linoleic and α-linolenic acid, and vitamins B2, B3, C-of which the most is in Gyokuro tea (about 10 mg) and Sencha (4 mg), vitamin E and trace amounts of vitamin K. Vitamin A only occurs in Matcha tea.…”

“…Catechins, with a catechol group have lower antioxidant potential compared to catechins with a pyrogalol group. However, the antioxidant efficacy of catechins depends not only on the chemical structure, but also on the environmental conditions [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. The individual chemical components of green tea have a fundamentally different effect on particular types of cancer.…”

“…Due to the numerous health-promoting properties of catechins, it is recommended to include particularly products containing catechins in the daily diet [17]. Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant as well as chemopreventive activity are considered as the most important action of the catechin group [13][14][15][16][17][18].…”

Tackling Antibiotic Resistance with Compounds of Natural Origin: A Comprehensive Review

“…There is abundant literature on the antimicrobial capacity of polyphenols and extracts of plants rich in them that have bactericidal and bacteriostatic capacity against many pathogens, both Gram-positive and Gram-negative. The potential use of polyphenols as antimicrobials is widely studied to be applied in different areas such as agriculture [ 73 ], food preservation [ 74 ] and medicine [ 75 ].…”

Tea Consumption Is Associated with Decreased Disease Activity of Rheumatoid Arthritis in a Real-World, Large-Scale Study

“…A recent study showed that EGCG-mediated inhibition of G3BP1 provided a potential treatment for cGAS-related autoimmune diseases [26]. Overall, tea polyphenols provide a variety of biological actions such as anti-oxidant, anti-carcinogenic, anti-viral and anti-microbial activities [27][28][29]. High-intake of tea implies a higher uptake of tea polyphenols containing EGCG, which can result in a more obvious anti-inflammatory effect.…”