History and prospect of tea medicine in China

Abstract

Tea was first used as medicine during the reign of "Emperor Shengnong" in ancient China. The period of more than 4000 years' of Chinese tea medication can be divided in 3 stages of development. In this paper we briefly discuss the history of medicinal uses of tea in China, review the stages of development, and focus upon the modern achievements. The trend and future direction in tea medical study in China are also briefly discussed.