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Review
. 2021 Nov 18:2021:6256618.
doi: 10.1155/2021/6256618. eCollection 2021.

Theaflavin Chemistry and Its Health Benefits

Zhiguo Shan  1 , Muhammad Farrukh Nisar  2   3 , Mingxi Li  4 , Chunhua Zhang  1 , Chunpeng Craig Wan  2
Affiliations
Review

Theaflavin Chemistry and Its Health Benefits

Zhiguo Shan et al. Oxid Med Cell Longev. .

Retraction in

Abstract

Huge epidemiological and clinical studies have confirmed that black tea is a rich source of health-promoting ingredients, such as catechins and theaflavins (TFs). Furthermore, TF derivatives mainly include theaflavin (TF1), theaflavin-3-gallate (TF2A), theaflavin-3'-gallate (TF2B), and theaflavin-3,3'-digallate (TF3). All of these TFs exhibit extensive usages in pharmaceutics, foods, and traditional medication systems. Various indepth studies reported that how TFs modulates health effects in cellular and molecular mechanisms. The available literature regarding the pharmacological activities of TFs has revealed that TF3 has remarkable anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, antiobesity, antiosteoporotic, and antimicrobial properties, thus posing significant effects on human health. The current manuscript summarizes both the chemistry and various pharmacological effects of TFs on human health, lifestyle or aging associated diseases, and populations of gut microbiota. Furthermore, the biological potential of TFs has also been focused to provide a deeper understanding of its mechanism of action.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Structural diversity in theaflavins.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The mechanism of anticancer activity of theaflavins (TFs). TFs follow multiple pathways to induce apoptosis in cancer cells.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The cytoprotective mechanism of TFs in skin cells against solar UVR by inhibiting ROS-mediated MAPK signaling cascades.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The TFs downregulate nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its associated risk factors and regulates the biosynthesis of unnecessary fatty acids in liver cells. Moreover, glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity have also been increased. NASH: nonalcoholic steatohepatitis; HCC: hepatocellular carcinoma, cirrhosis; AMPK: adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase; PK: plasma kallikrein.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The regulation of antioxidant responsive Nrf2/HO-1 pathway to combat ROS mediated renal cell injury and provides cytoprotection by reducing the production of inflammatory mediators.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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