Tea is a widely renowned functional beverage originating from processed tender leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant after brewing with hot water. This refreshing and revitalizing beverage has been recognized as an essential commodity since ancient times. Tea constituents have many health benefits and hence find usage in functional foods, beverages, and nutraceuticals. Nonetheless, the clinical usage of tea constituents is limited by the high molecular weight, poor stability, and low bioavailability of some active components. We review how fresh tea leaves are processed into different forms of tea such as green, oolong, white, and black teas. The major tea constituents, e.g., catechins, caffeine, and theanine, exhibit numerous health properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antidiabetic, cardioprotective, and antimicrobial. We discuss methods to enhance the efficacy and applicability of active tea constituents, such as micro- and nanoencapsulation techniques.

茶是一种广受欢迎的功能性饮料，起源于山茶的嫩叶用热水冲泡后种植。自古以来，这种提神醒脑的饮料就被视为必不可少的商品。茶成分具有许多健康益处，因此可以在功能性食品，饮料和保健食品中使用。但是，茶成分的临床使用受到某些活性成分的高分子量，差的稳定性和低生物利用度的限制。我们回顾了如何将新鲜茶叶加工成不同形式的茶，例如绿茶，乌龙茶，白茶和红茶。主要的茶成分，例如儿茶素，咖啡因和茶氨酸，具有多种健康特性，例如抗氧化剂，抗炎剂，抗癌剂，抗糖尿病药，心脏保护剂和抗微生物剂。我们讨论了增强活性茶成分的功效和适用性的方法，