Special Issue Editors

Leading Editors：

• Zhonghua Liu, Academicians of Chinese Academy of Engineering, Hunan Normal University/Hunan Agricultural University
• Yongquan Xu, Research Fellow, Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
• Guanhu Bao, Professor, Anhui Agricultural University
• Zhihao Qu, Associate Professor, Hunan Agricultural University, qu_zhihao@hunau.edu.cn

Co-editors：

• Qiang Chu, Professor, Zhejiang University
• Sheng Zhang, Professor, Hunan Agricultural University
• Caibi Zhou, Professor, Southwest Forestry University
• Wei Xu, Associate Professor, Sichuan Agricultural University
• Peng Zhang, Associate Professor, Guizhou Medical University
• Changwei Liu, PhD, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine

Description

Tea, the world’s second most widely consumed beverage after water, is an important food and medicine homology resource. It contains a rich diversity of natural chemical constituents, including secondary metabolites naturally present in fresh tea leaves and novel compounds generated during tea processing through oxidation and polymerization, microbial transformation, enzymatic reactions, and other chemical or biochemical processes.

More than 1,400 compounds have been isolated and identified from tea, including tea polyphenols, catechins, oxidative polyphenol polymers, theanine, and tea polysaccharides. Tea also contains diverse self-assembled polyphenol structures and complexes or conjugates formed between polyphenols and polysaccharides, amino acids, proteins, and other constituents. Together, these chemical constituents and molecular structures provide the material basis for the health-promoting properties of tea and its potential applications as a food and medicine homology resource.

This special issue focuses on the isolation and identification of tea functional components, assessment of their biological activities and safety, their metabolic transformation in vivo, interactions with the gut microbiota, mechanisms of self-assembly and complexation, synergistic effects among functional components, and their chemical modification and synthesis. The aim is to establish a comprehensive scientific evidence base for the further exploration and development of tea functional components as novel functional-food ingredients and for their application in food and medicine homology products and other health-related products.

The topics of interest for this special issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Innovative technologies for the isolation, purification, and identification of tea functional components: Studies focusing on the isolation, purification, structural elucidation, and quantitative analysis of novel compounds, trace bioactive constituents, and complex conjugates or assemblies in tea and tea products. The development of highly sensitive, high-throughput, and integrated analytical methods is encouraged, particularly for elucidating the formation and transformation of functional components during tea processing. Special attention will be given to the isolation and characterization of oxidative polyphenol polymers and other compounds with novel structures, as well as the development of green and efficient processes for recovering major functional components from tea.
2. Precision assessment of tea functional components: Evaluation of the biological activities and safety of tea functional components using in vitro assays, cell-based models, animal studies, and clinical investigations. Relevant research may examine their roles in metabolic regulation, antioxidant defence, inflammation, immune regulation, and the prevention or management of chronic diseases, with particular emphasis on dose–response relationships and underlying molecular mechanisms. Studies addressing synergistic interactions among tea functional components, acute and long-term toxicity, potential adverse effects, appropriate intake levels, and safety in specific populations are also welcomed.
3. Self-assembly, co-assembly, and complexation mechanisms of tea functional components and their functional consequences: Investigations into the molecular interactions, assembly-driving forces, and structural formation mechanisms involved in the self-assembly of tea polyphenols and other functional components, as well as their co-assembly or complexation with polysaccharides, proteins, amino acids, minerals, and related substances. Studies may further evaluate how the resulting assembled or complexed structures affect component stability, bioavailability, delivery performance, and biological activity.
4. Nutrition and metabolism of tea functional components:

4.1 Studies characterizing the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of tea functional components in vivo, identifying key metabolites, and determining their tissue distribution and dynamic changes. Research clarifying the relative contributions and mechanisms of parent compounds and their metabolites to the health effects of tea is particularly encouraged.

4.2 Investigations into the effects of tea consumption and tea functional components on the composition and function of the gut microbiota and on microbial metabolites, as well as the microbial biotransformation of tea constituents and the identification of relevant microbial functional genes. Studies examining how interindividual differences in gut microbiota contribute to variations in the health effects of tea and the underlying mechanisms are also of interest.

4.3 Preparation of tea functional components and their derivatives through chemical, enzymatic, or microbial transformation, together with studies examining how structural modification influences their solubility, stability, bioavailability, and biological activity.

5. Development of tea-derived health and wellness products: Development of food ingredients, functional foods, and other health-related products based on tea functional components. This topic includes the design and innovation of specialized processing technologies and equipment tailored to the physicochemical and functional properties of tea components, as well as research on efficient biosynthesis, microbial production, and large-scale fermentation technologies for tea functional components.

Keywords: Tea functional components; Isolation, identification, and structural characterization; Biological activity and safety; In vivo metabolism and transformation; Gut microbiota interactions; Food and medicine homology product development

Instructions for submission:

The Editorial Manager System is ready for article submission towards the Virtual special issue: SI: Innovation in Green Separation, Precise Evaluation and Delivery Technology of Tea Functional Components and Creation of Health Products

The submission website for this journal is located at: https://mc03.manuscriptcentral.com/fmhr

To ensure that all manuscripts are correctly identified for inclusion into the special issue, it is important that authors select – Tea Health Products

when they reach the “Article Type” step in the submission process.

Benefits of publishing with Food & Medicine Homology Resources

• Open access (unlimited and free access for readers, and high visibility on SciOpen). https://www.sciopen.com/journal/3136-103X
• Free of any charge.
• Precise push, good reference effect.

Submission Deadline: December 30, 2026

Publication Data: September 2027