Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze, popularly known as tea, is the one of the oldest, most commonly consumed beverages after water. It is generally recommended to use two leaves and a bud cut off from the shoot tip in tea production. This is done to prevent the decrease of some chemical entities in the leaves as they age (Kacar 1997). Secondary metabolites in plants are produced for special purposes including natural defense and are called as xenobiotics when taken by humans through diet (Silva Pinto 2013). Tea chemistry is quite complicated. The biological effects of tea has been associated with active substances like tannin, flavonoids and alkaloids. In recent years, there are some very surprising studies that possibly suggest the association of microRNAs with plants’ medicinal activities. It was reported that plant miRNAs might enter human bloodsystem and play an important role in gene expression (Xie et al 2017). In this study, it was aimed to investigate the relation between tea microRNAs and their possible role in human health.
Key words: Tea, Camellia sinensis, microRNA, biological activity
References:
1. Kaçar, B. Çayın Biyokimyası ve İşleme Teknolojisi. No: 6. Ankara, Çay İşletmeleri Genel Müdürlüğü Çay-Kur; 1997: 1-71.
2. Silva Pinto M. Tea: A new perspective on health benefits. Food Research International; 2013: 558-567.
3. Xie W, Adolf J, Melzig MF (2017) Identification of Viscum album L. miRNAs and prediction of their medicinal values. PLoS ONE; 2017: 1-20.