Herbal Teas and their Health Benefits: A Scoping Review

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition volume 74, pages266–276(2019)Cite this article

Abstract

Herbal teas are used as therapeutic vehicles in many forms of traditional medicine and are a popular global beverage. The purpose of this scoping review was to examine the evidence relating to the clinical efficacy and safety of herbal teas, and to identify the main research themes and gaps in knowledge to inform further work. A scoping review methodology was followed that set out the research question and described the sourcing, selection and analysis of studies. Overall, a total of 145 research publications were retrieved from global bibliographic databases, and after applying exclusion criteria, 21 remained. These studies looked at herbal tea use in female health, diabetes, heart disease and weight loss, with plant species including lavender, chamomile, fenugreek, stinging nettle, spearmint, hibiscus, yerba maté, echinacea and combinations of herbs. Observational studies explored associations between herbal tea consumption and cancer risk, liver health, and the risks linked to the consumption of environmental contaminants in the plant material. Despite plant materials being the basis for drug discovery, and the popularity of herbal teas, the number of articles exploring clinical efficacy and safety is small. In this review we discuss how herbal teas may be beneficial in some areas of clinical and preventative health, and what further research is required to understand whether regular consumption can contribute to healthy living more generally.

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Acknowledgements

This research was co-funded between the University of the West of England Internship Scheme and Pukka Herbs.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Sciences, University of the West of England, Frenchay Campus, Bristol, BS16 1QY, UK

    Fatima S. Poswal & Grace Russell

  2. Pukka Herbs, The Chocolate Factory, Bristol, BS31 2GN, UK

    Marion Mackonochie, Euan MacLennan & Vivien Rolfe

  3. Centre for Research in Biosciences, University of the West of England, Frenchay Campus, Bristol, BS16 1QY, UK

    Emmanuel C. Adukwu

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  1. Fatima S. Poswal
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Correspondence to Vivien Rolfe.

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Pukka Herbs is a manufacturer of herbal teas and supplements. The data relating to this research is shared openly for transparency.

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Poswal, F.S., Russell, G., Mackonochie, M. et al. Herbal Teas and their Health Benefits: A Scoping Review. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 74, 266–276 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-019-00750-w

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Keywords

  • Infusions
  • Plant medicine
  • Phytochemicals
  • Plant biodiversity
  • Herbal tea