While beneficial health properties of tea leaves have been extensively studied, less attention is paid to the flowers of tea. In this study, the anti-inflammatory effects of hot water extract of tea (Camellia sinensis) flowers were investigated. Pharmacological studies found that administration of tea flowers extract (TFE) could effectively inhibit croton oil-induced ear edema and carrageenin-induced paw edema. Furthermore, administration of TFE also protected against Propionibacterium acnes (P. ances) plus lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) induced liver inflammation by reversing the histologic damage and plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) increase. Moreover, the levels of nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor-(TNF)-α and interleukin-(IL-) 1β mRNA in mouse liver were markedly suppressed after treatment with TFE in mice with immunological liver inflammation. These results indicated that tea flowers had potent anti-inflammatory effects on acute and immunological inflammation in vivo, and may be used as a functional natural food. © Copyright 2012 Bang-Tian Chen et al.
CITATION STYLE
Chen, B. T., Li, W. X., He, R. R., Li, Y. F., Tsoi, B., Zhai, Y. J., & Kurihara, H. (2012). Anti-inflammatory effects of a polyphenols-rich extract from tea (camellia sinensis) flowers in acute and chronic mice models. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/537923
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