Stop for tea? Enzyme inhibitors from tea – what good are they?

Abstract

Summary Tea possesses many bioactive components including polyphenols, theanine and caffeine. Inhibitory effect of these components on the various enzymes involved in some chronic diseases was reviewed in this study. Many studies revealed that anti‐obesity of tea was mainly ascribed to the polyphenols which could inhibit the activity of the enzymes related to diet metabolism such as α‐amylase, α‐glucosidase and lipase. Inhibitory effect of catechins and caffeine against β‐ and γ‐secretase, acetylcholinesterase, protein kinase C and histone deacetylase might be responsible for the prevention from nervous system diseases. Cytochrome P450 enzymes, cytosolic sulfotransferases, cyclooxygenase‐2 and phosphoinositide‐3‐kinase could be efficiently suppressed by catechins, which would decrease the risk of cancer initiation and proliferation; theanine could lower the activity of some anticarcinogen‐activated enzymes and alleviate the adverse effect of cancer cure. Catechins and caffeine exhibited significant inhibition against the matrix metalloproteinases, histidine decarboxylase and many kinases related to inflammation. Thus, catechins, theanine and caffeine might be employed as inhibitors of the enzymes associated with these chronic diseases.

Black and green tea (Camellia sinensis L.) extracts as natural antioxidants in uncured pork sausages

“…Rasouli Ghahroudi, Mizani, Rezaei, and Bameni Moghadam () have shown that total phenolic content of black tea is around 207 ± 17 mg GAE g –1 dry weight of tea leaves and that it could be used as a source of antioxidant compounds in food products. Further, the anti‐obesity character of tea is mainly ascribed to polyphenols, which could inhibit the activity of the enzymes related to the diet metabolism such as alpha amylase, alpha glycosidase, and lipase (Zhao et al, ).…”

The interactions between food components and human nutrition

“…Part of these benefits may be due to the rich sources of antioxidant material in plant‐based foods (Su et al ., ). This is especially true when considering the functional benefits of tea polyphenols (Zhao et al ., ), and how these polyphenols may modulate intestinal microflora and hence obesity and diabetes (Guo et al ., ). Good news for consumers who regularly drink green tea.…”