Abstract

Tea (Camellia sinensis), a popular beverage, is consumed worldwide. The biological activities and mechanism( s) of chemopreventive effects of green tea polyphenols (monomeric catechins) have been extensively studied, while similar information regarding newly formed major black tea polyphenols (BTPs-oligomeric, polymeric) is not available. Therefore, this review focuses mainly on compiling the evidence on chemopreventive efficacy of black tea extract (BTE) / BTPs and describing their mechanism(s) of anti-initiating, anti-promoting and anti-progressor action(s) in in vivo experimental systems. Overall, the mechanism(s) implicated in the BTPs-mediated inhibition are diverse and involve effects on multiple molecular pathways and genes.

Keywords: Carcinogens, in vivo models, tumorigenesis, black tea polyphenols, chemoprevention, anti-initiation, anti-promotion, anti-progression