Antidiabetic Effects of Tea

• Main Authors: Qiu-Yue Fu, Qing-Sheng Li, Xiao-Ming Lin, Ru-Ying Qiao, Rui Yang, Xu-Min Li, Zhan-Bo Dong, Li-Ping Xiang, Xin-Qiang Zheng, Jian-Liang Lu, Cong-Bo Yuan, Jian-Hui Ye, Yue-Rong Liang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2017-05-01
• Series: Molecules
• Subjects: Camellia sinensis; tea catechins; tea polysaccharides; caffeine; diabetes mellitus; epidemiological analysis
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/22/5/849

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic endocrine disease resulted from insulin secretory defect or insulin resistance and it is a leading cause of death around the world. The care of DM patients consumes a huge budget due to the high frequency of consultations and long hospitalizations, making DM a serious threat to both human health and global economies. Tea contains abundant polyphenols and caffeine which showed antidiabetic activity, so the development of antidiabetic medications from tea and its extracts is increasingly receiving attention. However, the results claiming an association between tea consumption and reduced DM risk are inconsistent. The advances in the epidemiologic evidence and the underlying antidiabetic mechanisms of tea are reviewed in this paper. The inconsistent results and the possible causes behind them are also discussed.