School of Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Objective: To trace the origin and development of medicinal tea formulas, explores the medicinal value of tea in the formulas to provide traditional Chinese medicine practitioners with the idea of using tea in the formulas. Methods: This thesis combed through the medicinal tea formulas in the medical books of the past dynasties and explored the main indication, usage and preparation of the medicinal tea formulas. Results: Tea had the record with the medicinal effects in many herbal literatures. Doctors often used tea with other Chinese herbs together in the formulas. Conclusion: This kind of formula combining tea and Chinese herbs was called as “medicinal tea formula”. Medicinal tea formula had been standardized and formed during the Song Dynasty in China. A comprehensive overview of the medicinal tea formulas from the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty can provide a reference for the treatment of many indications and improve the value of the medicinal tea formulas.

Honey production from approximately 1.7 million colonies owned by around 21 thousand beekeepers was almost 36 thousand M/T in Korea. Pollen has used as a food and medicine from before the Joseon Dynasty period in Korea. Pollen grains such as acorn (Quercus acutissima), actinidia (Actinidia arguta) and green tea (Camellia sinensis) are popular in the markets in Korea. But stiff pollen wall hindered dissolution of polysaccharides and lowered extraction efficiency. In the present study, we measured the antioxidant activity and the total polyphenol content from the pulverized and lyophilized green tea pollen grains inoculated with 6 kinds of fungi to confirm the husk removal effect. The total polyphenol content of green tea pollens was highest in lyophilized pollen medium inoculated with Armillaria mellea, and was lowest in pollen inoculated with Lentinula edodes. Total polyphenol content of the lyophilized pollen was higher than that of the refined pollen and the pulverized pollen in green tea pollen germinated with A. mellea. The total polyphenol content of the lyophilized green tea pollens germinated with A. mellea was 1.4-fold higher than that extracted with water. Measurement of antioxidant activity using the DPPH free radical scavenging method showed that the lyophilized green tea pollen grains germinated with A. mellea had the highest and that germinated with L. edodes was lowest in antioxidant activities. The lyophilized green tea pollen grains germinated with A. mellea was 2 to 4 times higher than that extracted with water in the antioxidant activity of DPPH free radical scavenging. Many germinated cells were formed around pore of green tea pollen inoculated with L. edodes, while those were formed at the end of hyphae derived from green tea pollen grains inoculated with A. mellea.

Various types of tea are consumed as a popular beverage worldwide particularly in Asian countries such as Korea, China, and Japan. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mineral contents, antioxidant properties and anticancer activity of Yak-Sun tea that is prepared by six oriental medicinal herbs. The results of the mineral contents were as follows; Ca, Mg, and Na contents were higher than those of green tea, whereas Fe, P, and K contents were lower than those of green tea. The total phenolics and flavonoid content of the Yak-Sun tea were higher than those of green and black teas. The IC₅₀ values of DPPH radical, hydroxyl radical, hydrogen peroxide radical scavenging of Yak-Sun tea were 0.78, 1.58, and 2.04 ㎎/㎖, respectively, whereas the radical scavenging values of α-tocopherol was 0.06, 0.05, and 0.09 ㎎/㎖, respectively. When cancer cells were treated with Yak-Sun tea, the anticancer activity increased in a dose dependent manner. HCT116 colon cancer cell lines were dramatically increased, as compared to other cancer cell lines, such as MCF-7, H460, and MKN45 cell lines. The results of this study demonstrated that Yak-Sun tea could function as a tea to enhance health conditions for antioxidant and anticancer activity.