L-茶氨酸抗氧化作用的研究进展

L-茶氨酸是茶叶中特有的一种非蛋白氨基酸,是茶叶的主要功能成分,具有抗氧化、增强机体免疫、松弛神经紧张等生理活性作用,有益于机体健康。目前L-茶氨酸生理功效的评价也已成为现代医学和食品科学的研究热点,但其作用机制仍然有待于进一步的深入研究。2014年L-茶氨酸已被新增为新型食品原料,但在国内市场上尚罕见以L-茶氨酸为主要原料的产品,其在新药、保健食品等方面的开发和利用更是远远不够。综述了L-茶氨酸对机体的抗氧化调节作用及其下调炎症因子、调控线粒体凋亡通路和mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK)信号通路、减少促凋亡信号引起的细胞凋亡和氧化应激损伤等机理的研究进展,旨在为L-茶氨酸在相关领域的进一步研究和L-茶氨酸作为功能产品的进一步开发利用提供参考。

Review on Antioxidative Activities of L-Theanine

L-theanine is one kind of unique non-peptide amino acid, which is one of the main functional ingredients of tea. L-theanine has many physiological functions, such as antioxidative activity, regulating immune response, relaxing neural tension, and so on, which is beneficial for human or animal health. At present, the evaluation of physiological functions of L-theanine has become the research hotspot in the field of modern medicine and food science, but its mechanism remains to be further studied. L-theanine has been announced as a novel food ingredient. However, the products consisting of L-theanine as the main raw material are very rare in the domestic market, and its exploitation and utilization in the field of new drugs, health food, and new feed additives is far from adequate. The bioactivity of L-theanine, such as antioxidative activity, mechanism of down-regulating pro-inflammatory, regulating mitochondrial apoptotic pathway and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, and decreasing cells apoptosis caused by pro-apoptotic signal were summarized in this paper. This aims to provide a reference for the further research in the relevant fields and the further exploitation and utilization of L-theanine as functional ingredients.