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Food Science and Human Wellness 2022, 11(3): 467-475 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fshw.2021.12.004
Review Article | Open Access | Issue | Published: 04 February 2022

How does the tea L-theanine buffer stress and anxiety

Show Author's Information Liwen Wanga,  Margaret Brennanb,  Shiming Lic( ),  Hui Zhaod,  Klaus W. Langee,  Charles Brennanb,f( )
College of Food Science and Technology, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071001, China
Department of Wine, Food and Molecular Biosciences, Lincoln University, Christchurch 7647, New Zealand
Hubei Key Laboratory of EFGIR, Huanggang Normal University, Huanggang 438000, China
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Food and Biotechnology, University of Commerce, Tianjin 300134, China
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg 93040, Germany
School of Science, RMIT, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia

Peer review under responsibility of KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.

Keywords:
Anxiety, Stress, Relaxation, L-theanine, Food matrix
Cite this article:
Wang L, Brennan M, Li S, et al. How does the tea L-theanine buffer stress and anxiety. Food Science and Human Wellness, 2022, 11(3): 467-475. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fshw.2021.12.004
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Abstract Full text About this article

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is widely considered to promote feelings of calming and soothing. This effect is attributed to L-theanine (L-γ-glutamylethylamide) in tea, a non-protein amino acid mainly derived from tea leaves. As a naturally occurring structural analogue of glutamate, L-theanine competes for the receptors with glutamate and is able to pass the blood-brain barrier to exert its relaxation effect. This review focuses on the relaxation effect of L-theanine, including animal models and the latest human trials as well as the potential molecular mechanisms regarding neuron stem cells. The biological efficacy of dietary L-theanine in the food matrix has been further discussed in this review in relation to the physiological changes in the gastrointestinal tract and bindings of L-theanine with other food components.


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About this article

How does the tea L-theanine buffer stress and anxiety

Show Author's information Liwen Wanga, Margaret Brennanb, Shiming Lic( ), Hui Zhaod, Klaus W. Langee, Charles Brennanb,f( )
College of Food Science and Technology, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071001, China
Department of Wine, Food and Molecular Biosciences, Lincoln University, Christchurch 7647, New Zealand
Hubei Key Laboratory of EFGIR, Huanggang Normal University, Huanggang 438000, China
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Food and Biotechnology, University of Commerce, Tianjin 300134, China
Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg 93040, Germany
School of Science, RMIT, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia

Peer review under responsibility of KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.

Abstract

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is widely considered to promote feelings of calming and soothing. This effect is attributed to L-theanine (L-γ-glutamylethylamide) in tea, a non-protein amino acid mainly derived from tea leaves. As a naturally occurring structural analogue of glutamate, L-theanine competes for the receptors with glutamate and is able to pass the blood-brain barrier to exert its relaxation effect. This review focuses on the relaxation effect of L-theanine, including animal models and the latest human trials as well as the potential molecular mechanisms regarding neuron stem cells. The biological efficacy of dietary L-theanine in the food matrix has been further discussed in this review in relation to the physiological changes in the gastrointestinal tract and bindings of L-theanine with other food components.

Keywords: Anxiety, Stress, Relaxation, L-theanine, Food matrix

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Publication history

Received: 15 January 2021
Revised: 14 February 2021
Accepted: 07 March 2021
Published: 04 February 2022
Issue date: May 2022

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© 2022 Beijing Academy of Food Sciences.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Hubei Science and Technology Plan Key Project (G2019ABA100).

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This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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