Abstract: Tea polyphenols have multiple health benefits including antioxidant and antibacterial activities, cancer prevention, anti-radiation and immune enhancement. However, the application of tea polyphenols is often limited due to weak fat-soluble property, poor stability to oxidation, and reduced activity in alkaline solution. Tea polyphenol nanoparticles have greater advantages in size, fat solubility, stability, oxidation resistance, transdermal activity and other aspects than the ordinary tea polyphenol samples. Currently, tea polyphenol nanoparticles have been widely applied in the food, medicine and daily chemical industries. In this paper, the current preparation technologies and applications of tea polyphenol nanoparticales are reviewed and the future development trend is also proposed.

Key words: tea polyphenols, nanoparticles, preparation technology, application