[Retrospect of Chinese herbs taken as tea drinking].

Tea and wine are time-honored drinks in China. Along with coffee and cocoa, tea, as one of the non-alcoholic plant beverages, is prevailing the world. Tea and Chinese medicine has a very close relationship. Chinese herbs taken as tea forming the tea-like medicinal tea, can be taken frequently at anytime. The application of Chinese herbs taken as tea drinking begins from the Tang Dynasty, flourishes in the Song Dynasty and matures in the Qing Dynasty. The review of its history provides ample evidence of Chinese herbs taken as tea drinking in treating and preventing diseases, as well as providing the clues and references of developing new Chinese herbs taking as tea.

Travelling with tea: a Tuckerella's tale.

Tuckerella japonica Ehara appears strongly associated with tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze, Theaceae) and, due to certain cultural practices in tea production, has in fact become a world traveller, accompanying the greatly coveted tea plant as it spread across the planet. The history of tea production and culture, and its arrival in the USA, provides the backdrop for this traveller's tale. Tuckerella japonica is morphologically similar to T. flabellifera Miller, described from Tasmania in Australia from Bedfordia salicina (Labill.) D.G. (Asteraceae). These two species have historically been misidentified as each other, creating inaccuracies in the collection records. The implications of this in terms of host plant lists and world distribution are discussed further, along with their morphological separation. The male and immature stages of T. japonica are described for the first time. Tuckerella xinglongensis Lin and Fu, from tea in China, is considered a junior synonym of T. japonica. The loss of the ancestral prostigmatan condition of three nymphal stages during ontogeny is confirmed for males of T. flabellifera, which do not retain a tritonymphal stage.

Notes on the history of caffeine use.

As behooves something so deeply entrenched in culture, the historical origins of the use of methylxanthines are unknown and dressed in myth. This is true for coffee as well as tea, and for both it is interesting to note that their common use is really very recent. For coffee we know that its use became more widespread in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and in Europe this occurred in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The use of tea became more common during the Ming Dynasty in China and during the eighteenth century in Britain. Coffee was mostly an upper-class drink in Arabia, and remained a relative luxury in Europe until quite recently. The use of other methylxanthine-containing beverages, such as maté, is even less well known. It is interesting to note that before these drinks were commonly used on a daily basis they were used for medicinal purposes, indicating that their pharmacological actions had long been noted.

"Guinomi".

In the West, pottery is usually deemed "craft" rather than "art" and has long existed near the bottom of the aesthetic hierarchy. In Japan, to the contrary, pottery is among the most highly regarded forms of art, in great part due to its role in the Zen-inspired Tea ceremony. Because the Tea ceremony effectively creates a link between several art forms (landscape, architecture, poetry, calligraphy, pottery, cuisine), a profound and highly codified symbolic system has developed that articulates all art forms, all the while celebrating the chance effects of the heat of the kiln and the cycles of nature. This complex aesthetic system has a radical impact on formal Japanese cuisine, which is of startling complexity and symbolic profundity.

[The textual research on the related names of ancient health-care drinks].

There are many kinds of related names of ancient health-care drinks such as tea, tea soup, herb soup, soup, boiled water, thirsty water and cold decoction etc. Following textual research on each connotation of all kinds of names, they have the same aspects as well as different special contents. Among them, the tea soup is some kind of health-care and curative drink, mainly containing tea with other plant decoctions; not only referring to the drinking tea, but also the decoction drunk as tea. The 'tea soup can mostly reflect the original meaning of ancient health-care drinks, and also accord with the understanding of current health-care drinks, thus comprehensively and exactly summarize the content of ancient health-care drinks.

[Medicinal roles tea--a non-essential beverage--played in forming the Japanese culture during the Japanese middle ages (12th-16th AD)].

The term "culture" generally refers to practices and customs including clothes, food and housing as well as various arts, ethics, religions, politics and economies that support them, with the more refined formats such as tea ceremony or flower arrangement being more dependent on the maturity of the society at the time. Among these, tea may be especially noteworthy as it has been widely used as a favored beverage in various scenes in daily life, playing an important role in the development of Japanese society. As a medicinal agent, tea has psychotropic functions that activate senses, thoughts or association of ideas, and remove or alleviate drowsiness and fatigue. While alcohol, coffee or narcotics also have mind-altering effects, tea has been more widely accepted, possibly because of its milder effect and its adaptability to cultivation in different climate zones, leaving broad and deep impressions in the forming of the culture. In the fifth century, the rulers in Japan started opening state-run ranches throughout the country to raise horses and cattle, which drove population growth, spurred a commodity economy and gave rise to an associated birth of logistics providers. The ranch administrators, however, gradually built up political and economic power over the years to become samurai, who would eventually come to rule the country. In the Japanese Middle Ages, many merchants who had accumulated wealth in trades, finance, sake breweries or leather industries enjoyed gatherings with tea, which became the very popular tea ceremony. From these occasions, many of the now so-called classic arts with top-class artists were born. The popularity of the tea ceremony eventually produced SADO, the way of tea. Tea thus provided a cradle for many cultural elements as social barriers were often disregarded at such gatherings so that many artists and men of stature were able to emerge regardless of their backgrounds.

Domestic science: making chemistry your cup of tea.

In the early Victorian home, there were plenty of scientific lessons to be uncovered. With the appropriate interrogation, everyday objects could transform seemingly mundane activities such as eating breakfast, washing clothes or reading by candle-light into household lectures that gave children a familiar base from which to explore the hidden properties and marvellous histories of common commodities. Responding to an unprecedented hunger for scientific knowledge, a profusion of introductory texts appeared in the mid-nineteenth century that directed lessons into homes across Britain and beyond. In particular, the science of chemistry found its way into this domestic setting, as writers promoted its practice and practitioners as a source of authoritative expertise on everyday life. One of the most compelling illustrations of this encounter between the public and chemistry took place over a simple cup of tea.

[Historical consideration of tea trees and tea flowers, especially regarding the use of tea flowers as food].

Not only tea leaves, but also many kinds of plants have been used as tea, even those plants not belonging to Camellia sinensis, and they should be called "tea out of tea" in the Lucidophyllous forest zone. Generally, the tea leaf is drank after being decocted (almost boiled). The growth distribution of tea ranges in a belt-like zone of 30-40 degrees north latitude. Therefore, tea might have grown wild as "YAMACHA (mountain tea)" from ancient times in Japan as well as China. The first recored of tea drinking in Japan is the ceremony of "GYOUCHA" at the Imperial Court of the Emperor SHOUMU in 729. On the other hand, the oldest book about tea in China (CHAKYOU) was written in 770. Therefore, it seems that tea drinking started at nearly the same time in both countries. Tea was dispensed as medical supplies by Chinese medicinal prescription (SENKYUCHACHOUSAN) in Japan, but in China, tea was used as powdered medicine for drinking (SEICHA). However, the leaf of a certain plant used as "tea out of tea," was applied as a galenical preparation for traditional Chinese medicinal constitution. However, it is not possible to judge whether or not there was adaptability in Chinese medicine theory. In Japan, when tea was first consumed as a food, other than a few exceptions tea leaves were used as a coarse tea (BANCHA) until the latter half of the Meiji period. Mixing in air by stirring a tea solution, and at the same time, letting tea match with hot water. It was wisdom to improve the taste. As a result, in order to make bubble well, both of the condition and technique were devised. One of the approaches was to add the dried plant of Leguminosae (saponin) or tea flower (saponin), when "BANCHA" was decorted. And also tools such as a bamboo tea whisk (CHASEN) as well as bowl (GOROHACHI-CHAWAN), were conceived. "FURICHA" was served as a medicine by KUUYASHOUNIN in Japan in 951. Afterwards, the prayer ceremonies at shrines and temples used CHARAZU," showing the custom to serve tea in 1400. The custom of tea serving continues today, and the tea flower continues to be used according to the demand. After that, it seems that "FURICHA" (tea with bubbles) continued to be used for 640 years, until 1590 (AZUCHI-MOMOYAMA period) because MANCHARAZU was regarded as important in religion. Then, it is believed that the customs of "BOTEBOTECHA" and/or"BATABATACHA" succeeded traditionally. The culture of both tea drinking and cooking, each development course, existed respectively from the relations of tea and food. The state that was accompanied with neither tea nor cooking, such as "KISHUU-CHAGAYU (tea gruel)" and BOTEBOTECHA, continued for a while, but it was combined together as "ICHIJUU-ICHISSA (one soup one tea)" of "KAISEKIRYOURI (tea-ceremony dish)." It is noteworthy that the tea flower is used as preserved food seasoned with "MISO (fermented soybean paste)" and "TSUKUDANI (boiled food in sweetened soy sauce)." Even though old documents about the use of tea flowers as food in China were not found, according to literature in the past ten years, seven descriptions were found that the tea flower was used for food provided alone or with black tea, oolong tea or green tea. As for tea leaves and tea flowers being used as medicine, drink or food in Japan, as well as in neighboring countries which belong to the Lucidophyllous forest zone. The process that they were regarded as important with the time was investigated and reported here.

[Past, present and future of green tea: from pleasant beverage to drug in pills?]. / Storia ed attualità del tè verde: da bevanda voluttuaria a farmaco in compresse?

During the 17th century, new drinks entered the European market: wine and beer, which were largely widespread among the different European countries, were joined by coffee and tea; their consumption at was first limited to the higher classes, but they soon became popular at all levels of society. Even if their therapeutic effects were strongly stressed from different points of view, at first they encountered a certain resistance. Tea, in particular, represented a sort of compromise between a pleasant habit, bound to economic and social reasons, and a therapeutic scope. Green tea is unfermented tea. In Japan the most frequently used method of production is steaming, that deactivates the oxidase in tea leaves, determining the retention of a brilliant green colour. Its use has been proposed in a number of clinical conditions and pathologies, even if its putative therapeutic properties must be further assessed in rigorously designed and conducted clinical trials. Aim of this paper is to call needed attention to the potential role of green tea extracts in prevention and in therapy in relation to the scientific methodology of clinical research.

[The roots of Cha and Gambir].

This article attempts to trace the origin of tea. The author believes the ancient Chinese tea, "chia", is either Jicha (water extract from the pith of Acacia catechu that grows naturally in the mountainous border between the Yunnan province of China and southern Asian countries) or Jicha-Kagikazura (water extract from the young branches and leaves of Uncaris gambir, originally found in India/Sri Lanka). Both were pulverized after being kiln-dried and then mixed with water to produce a thick suspension, or tea. Although the drink is bitter and has an astringent property, it has a particular flavor with a refreshing after-taste. Its components with medicinal properties include tannin, catechin, and various flavonoids, making us believe it was worthwhile for the people at the time to consume the drink regularly. Generally speaking, tea cultivation in China flourished south of the Yangzi Jiang River including the present Zhejiang and Anhui provinces. Depending on the regions, there were words for tea in various languages, including the names of places where particular teas were grown. In addition to the names that appear in the famous Chajing book, it is interesting to note Da Fang pronounced tea as "TAH". Because the area south of the Yangzi Jiang has traditionally been active in foreign trade since the ancient and middle ages. People in this region consumed various foreign originated teas as well. This included Gambir, which was introduced to southern Asia (including present Malaysia and Indonesia) and was consumed as an herbal tea under names such as Guo Luo or Ju Luo teas. Paan, from India, also uses Gambir paste and was a popular chewing refreshment to prevent diseases caused by miasma as well as to keep one's mouth clean. The name A-sen-yaku used in Japan was taken from the plant name Acasia, and Gambir was used to dye Buddhist monks' Ke-Ra bags to a blackish yellow color. The Daikanwa dictionary states the Ra in the name, which means thin silk, was later replaced with "A". The official name for Ji-cha [Er Cha] in modern China is "Gaiji-cha", [Hal-Er Cha], which comes from the name of a variety of tea made by the Ai-Ni tribal subgroup of the ethnic Ha-Ni in Yunnan province. The [see character in text] character is pronounced "ni", which is a homophony of [character in text]. Based on these facts, "Ai-Ni" should be considered the same as "Hai-Ni". Because the ethnic groups in Yunnan province used primitive and tough tea leaves, which were eaten instead of being infused in water, the leaves were first fermented by being buried in the ground. Even today, people of these ethnic groups prefer fungus-fermented black tea with a particular flavor. In contrast, the ethnic Hans used and still use improved and softer young shoots of tea leaves to prepare mainly green tea. It has recently been discovered that Acapsia, as well as Gambir, has anti-oxidant properties, and that consumption over time is effective against many lifestyle-related adult diseases. It may be well worthwhile to cast fresh light upon ancient tea drinking customs.

[China-home of the tea drinking custom].

This paper summarizes how Gambir entered China. While the author attempts to explain how Gambir was replaced by tea in the area, there still appear to be many missing links, to which the author would like to welcome constructive criticism. Lao-cai on the China-Vietnam border, where Acacia pads were produced up to the 16th century, can be read as Rakuju . A tribe that belongs to Hani in northern Laos also consumes these Acacia pads. It was Li Jichin who called tea Lau-nu. This was based on a historical fact that Oh Shuku pointed out to Emperor Kobun in the 5th century in Northern Wei that calling tea a slave of lactic products could not be considered appropriate.

El consumo té y la salud: características y propiedades benéficas de esta bebida milenaria / Tea consumption and health: beneficial characteristics and properties of this ancient beverage

El té es una bebida de gran consumo y muchos de sus componentes se asocian con beneficios para la salud. El té, en sus diferentes formas de consumo, té verde, oolong y té negro, contiene una alta concentración de catequinas y de polifenoles. La variedad y cantidad de estos compuestos está determinada por el grado de oxidación a que se somete la hoja de té recién cosechada (té verde) o con diverso grado de oxidación (oolong y negro). Los efectos del té se asocian principalmente a la acción antioxidante de sus componentes, los que al actuar como atrapadores de especies reactivas del oxígeno protegen la estructura de los ácidos nucleicos, de las proteínas y de los lípidos. Los polifenoles del té producen in vitro efectos inhibitorios en la iniciación, promoción y progresión del cáncer al actuar sobre diferentes enzimas involucradas en cada una de estas etapas. Los polifenoles también ejercerían importantes efectos inhibidores de la iniciación de la aterogénesis, derivada de la oxidación de las LDL. También ejercerían efectos hipocolesterolémicos y vasodilatadores, actuando específicamente sobre enzimas y/o metabolitos involucrados en estos efectos. El consumo de té, además, mejoraría la calidad de vida ya que activaría la movilización de grasa en el tejido adiposo, estimulando la termogénesis y promoviendo una mejor mantención de la masa ósea debido a su contenido de flúor. Aunque muchos de los efectos bioquímicos y fisiológicos del té se han observado in vitro, existe también una importante evidencia derivada de estudios epidemiológicos en poblaciones numerosas y de diferente edad. El té es una bebida recomendable y que contribuye a mantener una mejor salud y calidad de vida.