Hawk tea, known for its distinctive camphor aroma and health benefits, is popular in regions such as Chongqing and Guizhou. However, current research on hawk tea is still in its early stages, primarily focusing on its chemical compositions and biological activity. A comprehensive review of the correlations between processing methods, characteristic chemical compounds, sensory properties, and health effects is lacking. There is also limited research on the changes in quality and aging mechanism during long-term storage. This paper systematically reviews the preparation process, bioactive compounds, aging characteristics and health benefits of hawk tea, discusses the current research gaps and challenges, and proposes potential research directions and future prospects to provide insights for the development of the hawk tea industry.
JIA X J, LI P, WAN J B, et al. A review on phytochemical and pharmacological properties of Litsea coreana[J]. Pharmaceutical Biology, 2017, 55(1): 1368-1374.
YUAN M, JIA X J, DING C B, et al. Comparative studies on bioactive constituents in hawk tea infusions with different maturity degree and their antioxidant activities[J]. The Scientific World Journal, 2014: 838165.
JIA X. Comparison the chemical and functional properties of protein hydrolysates from different mature degree hawk teas[J]. Journal of Food & Nutrition Research, 2013, 1(6): 138-144.
CHEN Z, ZHANG D, GUO J, et al. Active components, antioxidant, inhibition on metabolic syndrome related enzymes, and monthly variations in mature leaf hawk tea[J]. Molecules, 2019, 24(4): 657-657.
XIAO X, XU L, HU H, et al. DPPH radical scavenging and postprandial hyperglycemia inhibition activities and flavonoid composition analysis of hawk tea by UPLC-DAD and UPLC-Q/TOF MSE[J]. Molecules, 2017, 22(10): 1622.
ZHAO X. Hawk tea (Litsea coreana Levl. var. lanuginose) attenuates CCl4-induced hepatic damage in Sprague-Dawley rats[J]. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 2013, 5(2): 555-560.
XU T, HU S S, LIU Y, et al. Hawk tea flavonoids as natural hepatoprotective agents alleviate acute liver damage by reshaping the intestinal microbiota and modulating the Nrf2 and NF-κB signaling pathways[J]. Nutrients, 2022, 14(17): 3662-3662.
FENG J, YANG J, CHANG Y, et al. Caffeine-free hawk tea lowers cholesterol by reducing free cholesterol uptake and the production of very-low-density lipoprotein[J]. Communications Biology, 2019, 2(1): 173.