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Interactions of tea catechins with intestinal microbiota and their implication for human health

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Abstract

Tea catechins have attracted strong interests in pharmacological field for their extensive biological activities; however, their bioavailability in vivo is relatively low. Recent studies have shown tea catechins can modulate the composition of intestinal microbiota and help to improve hosts’ health. Meanwhile, the gut flora plays a crucial role in regulating the production of the metabolites of tea catechins and their biological activity. Although the activities of tea catechins to promote intestinal micro-ecology have been extensively studied, little is known about the two-way phenol-microbial interactions. This review focuses on the modulatory effect of tea catechins on intestinal microbiota as well as the microbial degradation of tea catechins and the metabolites formed. Finally, the potential effects of tea catechins on chronic intestinal inflammation are emphasized.

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Acknowledgements

This work was sponsored by Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (LY19C200006), the Key Research and Development Project of Zhejiang Province (2017C02039 and 2018C02047), and K.C. Wong Magna Fund in Ningbo University.

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  1. Department of Food Science and Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315211, People’s Republic of China

    Tongtong Guo, Dan Song & Xin Zhang

  2. Department of Food Science, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA

    Lu Cheng

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Guo, T., Song, D., Cheng, L. et al. Interactions of tea catechins with intestinal microbiota and their implication for human health. Food Sci Biotechnol 28, 1617–1625 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-019-00656-y

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