1Tea Tasting Laboratory, Tea Processing and Manufacturing Advisory (T.P.M.A) Department, Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Tea Research Association, Jorhat-785 008, Assam, India.
2Department of Plant Physiology and Breeding, Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Tea Research Association, Jorhat-785 008, Assam, India.
*Corresponding Author: Pradeep Kumar Patel, Department of Plant Physiology and Breeding, Tocklai Tea Research Institute, Tea Research Association, Jorhat-785 008, Assam, India. Email: pradeepk.bhu@gmail.com
The world’s oldest and most widely consumed non-alcoholic caffeine-containing beverage is tea, a traditional Chinese brew manufactured from the dried leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. Based on the oxidation process, there are three primary types of tea made from the Camellia sinensis plant: green tea, oolong tea and black tea. Monomeric and oligomeric catechins can be present in oolong tea. Oolong tea contains the highest concentrations of (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC) among white, green, black and Puer teas while green tea contains the highest concentrations of total catechins, (-)-epicatechin gallate (ECG) and (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Various studies show that Oolong tea and other types of tea process assorted pharmacological properties to promote general health. Different in-vivo and in-vitro research explained that bioactive compounds of tea found to be anticariogenic, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular disease, cancer, obesity, anti-oxidant etc. can be used as an effective preventive agent for common diseases. Oolong tea has unique polyphenol which is considered as source of healing and effective health- protecting substance. Oolong tea is effective in the control of body weight and fat oxidation of men. The present review will focus on major beneficial effects of Oolong tea, focusing on polyphenol, free radical scavenging, (-) -epigallocatechin etc.
Antioxidant, Non-oxidized, Oolong tea, Partially oxidized, Polyphenols
