Tea is the most frequently consumed natural beverage across the world produced with the young leaves and shoots of the evergreen perennial plant Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze. The expanding global appeal of
tea is partly attributed to its health-promoting benefits such as anti-
inflammation, anti-
cancer, anti-
allergy, anti-
hypertension, anti-
obesity, and anti- SARS-CoV-2 activity. The many advantages of healthy
tea intake are linked to its bioactive substances such as
tea polyphenols,
flavonoids (catechins),
amino acids (
theanine),
alkaloids (
caffeine),
anthocyanins,
proanthocyanidins, etc. that are produced through secondary metabolic pathways.
Phytohormones regulate secondary metabolite biosynthesis in a variety of plants, including
tea. There is a strong hormonal response in the biosynthesis of
polyphenols, catechins,
theanine and
caffeine in
tea under control and perturbed environmental conditions. In addition to the impact of preharvest
plant hormone manipulation on
green tea quality, changes in
hormones of postharvest
tea also regulate quality-related metabolites in
tea. In this review, we discuss the health benefits of major
tea constituents and the role of various
plant hormones in improving the endogenous levels of these compounds for human health benefits. The fact that the ratio of
tea polyphenols to
amino acids and the concentrations of
tea components are changed by environmental conditions, most notably by climate change-associated variables, the selection and usage of optimal
hormone combinations may aid in sustaining
tea quality, and thus can be beneficial to both consumers and producers.