中国传统虫茶的历史渊源及药用价值与食用安全性研究概貌

A survey of the historical origins, medicinal value and food safety of Chinese insect tea

中国传统虫茶是指用于制作茶叶代用品的某些昆虫的排泄物,主产于我国湖南、贵州和广西的一些山区,在当地已流传数百年之久,属于当地传统的特色农产品。在我国古代文献中,尽管对昆虫粪便直接用于茶用的描述非常罕见,但在古代医学书籍中,昆虫粪便的药用记载非常普遍。从20世纪90年代中期到现在的20多年间,中国传统虫茶的研究文献不断增多。特别是在虫茶的食品安全性,生物活性物质种类及其对某些实验动物模拟疾病预防和治疗方面的研究,已经取得了长足的进展,并已发现了多种生物活性物质和临床治疗效果或疗效迹象。这些研究成果为中国传统虫茶的传承和开发提供了重要依据。本文主要综述了我国关于虫茶的历史渊源,药用价值和食品安全性的科学研究概貌。时间跨度从公元992年到公元2018年。

Chinese traditional insect tea is tea made from the excrement of insects. It is mainly produced in the mountainous areas of Hunan, Guizhou and Guangxi where it has been drunk for hundreds of years and is a recognized local, traditional, agricultural product. Although descriptions of the use of insect feces to make tea are very rare in ancient Chinese literature, records of using insect feces for medicinal purposes are very common in ancient medical books. Publications on traditional Chinese insect tea have increased since the mid-1990s. In particular, great progress has been made in areas such as food safety, bioactive substances, and the prevention and treatment of simulated diseases in experimental animals. In addition, a variety of bioactive substances and clinical therapeutic effects or signs have been found. These results provide an important basis for the development of traditional Chinese insect tea. This paper reviews the historical origin, medicinal value and food safety of insect tea in China from 992 AD to 2018 AD.