Tea’s anti‐obesity properties, cardiometabolic health‐promoting potentials, bioactive compounds, and adverse effects: A review focusing on white and green teas

Abstract Tea is one of the most commonly consumed beverages in the world. Morocco, Japan, and China have consumed green tea for centuries. White tea, which is a variety of green teas, is very popular in China and is highly revered for its taste. Presently, both teas are consumed in other countries around the world, even as functional ingredients, and novel research is constantly being conducted in these areas. We provide an update on the health benefits of white and green teas in this review, based on recent research done to present. After a general introduction, we focused on tea’s anti‐obesity and human health‐promoting potential, adverse effects, and new approaches to tea and its bioactive compounds. It has been found that the health benefits of tea are due to its bioactive components, mainly phenolic compounds. Of these, catechins are the most abundant. This beverage (or its extracts) has potential anti‐inflammatory and antioxidant properties, which could contribute to body weight control and the improvement of several chronic diseases. However, some studies have mentioned the possibility of toxic effects; therefore, reducing tea consumption is a good idea, especially during the last trimester of pregnancy. Additionally, new evidence will provide insight into the possible effects of tea on the human gut microbiota, and even on the viruses responsible for SARS‐CoV‐2. A beverage such as this may favor beneficial gut microbes, which may have important implications due to the influence of gut microbiota on human health. We provide an update on the health benefits of white and green teas in this review, based on recent research done to present. After a general introduction, we have focused on the tea’s anti‐obesity and human health‐promoting potentials, adverse effects, and new approaches to the tea and its bioactive compounds. It has been found that tea’s health benefits are due to its bioactive components, mainly phenolic compounds. Of these, catechins are most abundant. This beverage (or its extracts) has potential anti‐inflammatory and antioxidant properties, which could contribute to body weight control and improvement of several chronic diseases. However, some studies have mentioned the possibility of toxic effects, so reducing tea consumption is a good idea, especially during pregnancy’s last trimester. Additionally, new evidence will provide insight into the possible effects of tea on human gut microbiota and even on the viruses responsible for SARS‐CoV‐2. A beverage like this may favor beneficial gut microbes, which may have important implications due to the influence gut microbiota has on human health.