Tea (<i>Camellia sinensis</i>, Theaceae) is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world. Studies in humans, animal models, and cell lines have suggested potential health benefits from the consumption of tea, including prevention of cancer, heart diseases, and metabolic syndrome related diseases. Many of the health benefits have been attributed to the polyphenolic constituents in tea with epigallocatechin 3-gallate (EGCG) being the most abundant component in green tea. Methylation, glucuronidation, sulfation, and ring-fission metabolism have been considered as the major metabolic pathways for tea catechins. However, there is no holistic approach to study the metabolic profile of tea polyphenols. Using a targeted metabolomics approach, we recently studied the metabolic profile of EGCG and have identified several novel metabolites. This presentation will cover the metabolic profile of EGCG, the identification of novel metabolites, and the impact of these novel metabolites to our understanding of the health benefits of tea polyphenols.

Complexity of the metabolism of tea polyphenols

256th National Meeting (2018)

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