Research Database
The only comprehensive database for clinical and medical research papers on the healthy benefits of matcha/green tea
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Cognitive Function
Matcha consumption leads to much higher intake of green tea phytochemicals compared to regular green tea. Previous research on caffeine, L-theanine, and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) repeatedly demonstrated benefits on cognitive performance.
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Heart Health
According to Harvard Medical School, “lowering your risk of cardiovascular disease may be as easy as drinking green tea. Studies suggest this light, aromatic tea may lower LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, which may be responsible for the tea's association with reduced risk of death from heart disease and stroke.”
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Mental Health
Matcha contains an amino acid called L-theanine, which has been shown to reduce physiological and psychological stresses. L-theanine also improves cognition and mood in a synergistic manner with caffeine, and promotes alpha wave production in the brain
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Cancer Prevention
Matcha/green tea has for many centuries been regarded as an essential part of good health in Japan and China. Many believe it can help reduce the risk of cancer, and a growing body of evidence backs this up.
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Immunity
A recent study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concluded that drinking matcha daily greatly enhanced the overall response of the immune system. The exceedingly high levels of antioxidants in matcha mainly take the form of polyphenols, catechins, and flavonoids, each of which aids the body’s defense in its daily struggles against free radicals that come from the pollution in your air, water and foods.
Learn MoreMost Recent Research Articles
Author: G. Haskaraca and E. Demirok and N. Kolsarıcı and F. Öz and N. Özsaraç
Heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAAs) are mutagenic compounds formed naturally in meats after thermal processing and are classified as a probable human carcinogen. Also, mutagenic potency of HAAs is about 100-fold stronger than that of aflatoxin and 2000-fold stronger than that of benzo[a]pyrene. The aims of the present study were to investigate HAA contents and to determine HAA existence in coated chicken drumsticks (CDs) and coated chicken wings (CWs) which are frequently consumed in fast food chains after purchasing from fast food restaurants, and the effects of green tea extract added into the cover material and microwave-precooking for the mitigation and the formation of HAAs in CD and CW samples produced using a laboratory model. HAA (IQx, IQ, MeIQx, MeIQ, 7,8-DiMeIQx, 4,8-DiMeIQx, PhIP, AαC, MeAαC) analysis was done by HPLC after solid-phase extraction. MeIQx is the dominant HAA in all CD and CW samples obtained from fast food restaurants, and its level was found to vary between 0.22–33.73 and 11.22–62.83 ng/g, respectively. PhIP was detected in 5 out of 20 samples from fast food restaurants with a maximum level of 3.15 ng/g, and IQx, 7,8-DiMeIQx, AαC, and MeIQ were also detected. MeIQx values of CW and CD samples produced with the laboratory model varied between not detected and 1.45 and not detected and 2.32 ng/g, respectively, while IQ, MeIQ, 7.8 DiMeIQx, 4,8-DiMeIQx, AαC, and MeAαC were not detected in any of the CW or CD samples produced using the laboratory model. HAA contents of CD and CW samples obtained from fast food restaurants were higher than those of samples produced using the laboratory model due to the possible effect of uncontrolled frying conditions in restaurants. In addition, it was determined that the addition of green tea extract (GTE) and microwave pre-cooking (MC) did not present any detectable effect on reducing the formation of HAAs in fried CDs and CWs produced using a laboratory model under controlled frying conditions.
Author: Md. Musfiqur Rahman and A.M. Abd El-Aty and Jeong-Heui Choi and Sung-Woo Kim and Sung Chul Shin and Jae-Han Shim
Determining the residues of dinotefuran and its metabolites (MNG, UF, and DN) is highly problematic because of their polar characteristics. Additionally, tea contains many compounds that can interfere with residue analysis. Thus, the aim of the present study was to refine the extraction method that assures good recoveries for dinotefuran and its metabolites and removes most of the matrix components in green tea using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). We attempted to increase the extraction efficiency of the QuEChERS method by selecting the appropriate solvents among ethyl acetate, acetone, isopropanol, 25% methanol in acetonitrile, and methanol. We found that methanol was the best extraction solvent for dinotefuran and its polar metabolites in dry green tea samples; however, due to a limitation of an appropriate partitioning salt, acetonitrile was used as the extraction solvent. Matrix enhancement and suppression effects were observed for all analytes, which made the recovery rates variable. \{DN\} recovery was <70% when compared with matrix-matched calibration, whereas it was within the acceptable range (70–120%) when compared with solvent calibration. The opposite was observed for \{MNG\} and dinotefuran due to a matrix suppression effect. \{UF\} recovery was consistent in both matrix-matched and solvent calibrations despite having little suppressive effect. The method was successfully applied and dinotefuran and its metabolite residues were found in field-incurred green tea samples. The current findings suggest that using methanol as an appropriate QuEChERS solvent for problematic polar pesticides and investigating a suitable partitioning salt would considerably strengthen the practical impact of such data.
Author: Shunsuke Miyauchi and Takayuki Yuki and Hiroshi Fuji and Kunio Kojima and Tsutomu Yonetani and Ayako Tomio and Takeshi Bamba and Eiichiro Fukusaki
The current study focused on the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) as a target for artificial cultivation because of the variation in its components in response to light conditions. We analyzed its sensory quality by multi-marker profiling using multicomponent data based on metabolomics to optimize the conditions of light and the environment during cultivation. From the analysis of high-quality tea samples ranked in a tea contest, the ranking predictive model was created by the partial least squares (PLS) regression analysis to examine the correlation between the amino-acid content (X variables) and the ranking in the tea contest (Y variables). The predictive model revealed that glutamine, arginine, and theanine were the predominant amino acids present in high-ranking teas. Based on this result, we established a cover-culture condition (i.e., a low-light intensity condition) during the later stage of the culture process and obtained artificially cultured tea samples, which were predicted to be high-quality teas. The aim of the current study was to optimize the light conditions for the cultivation of tea plants by performing data analysis of their sensory qualities through multi-marker profiling in order to facilitate the development of high-quality teas by plant factories.
Author: Ecem Evrim Çelik and Vural Gökmen
This work investigates the possibility of interaction between insoluble dietary fiber bound antioxidants, specifically of wheat bran, and soluble antioxidants like those provide by aqueous infusions of green tea. Solutions of pure catechins were also assayed for comparison with those naturally found in tea. To accomplish this, the aqueous and alcohol soluble fractions as well as the lipid components of wheat bran were firstly removed and the freeze-dried insoluble residue was then treated with different concentrations of green tea infusions or aqueous solutions of epicatechin (EC) and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) for certain time. Treatment with EC (0–200 μM) had no significant effect on the antioxidant capacity of insoluble bran fraction. However, treatment with EGCG significantly (p < 0.05) increased linearly the antioxidant capacity as a function of concentration (0–100 μM). Treatment with great tea infusions (1–3 g/100 ml) also increased the resulting antioxidant capacity of insoluble bran fraction, but the effect was lesser at higher infusion concentrations. Liquid chromatography couple to mass spectrometry (LC–MS) analyses of aqueous phases after treatment indicated comparable levels of decrease in the concentrations of catechins confirming their reaction with the radical forms of antioxidants bound to insoluble bran matrix.
Authors: Noelia López-Gutiérrez and Roberto Romero-González and Patricia Plaza-Bolaños and José Luis Martínez Vidal and Antonia Garrido Frenich
A method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous detection and quantification of phytochemicals in nutraceutical products obtained from green tea. For that purpose, ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to single-stage Orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC–Orbitrap-MS) has been used. A database containing 37 compounds has been used for the detection and identification of the target compounds. The developed methodology was based on solid–liquid extraction, using a mixture of methanol:H2O (80:20, v/v, pH 4), followed by dilution (10 times) with a mixture of ammonium acetate:methanol (50:50, v/v). Chromatographic conditions were optimised and full scan accurate mass data acquisition using electrospray ionisation in positive and negative ion mode was used. Moreover, all-ion fragmentation mode was used to get information of fragment ions, and they were used for identification purposes. The developed method was validated, obtaining repeatability (intra-day) and inter-day precision values (expressed as relative standard deviation, RSD) lower than 16% and 20%, respectively. Lower limits were also evaluated and limits of detection (LODs) ranged from 1 to 50 μg L−1, while limits of quantification (LOQs) ranged from 2 to 150 μg L−1. Recovery was performed at five levels and it ranged from 70% to 109%. Finally, this method was used to evaluate the phytochemical content in 10 samples (tablets or capsules), showing concentrations of (+)-catechin, (−)-epicatechin, gallic acid, (−)-gallocatechin and quercetin-3-O-rutinoside, ranging from 258 (C6) to 10,729 (C6) mg kg−1.
Authors: Jang-Eun Lee and Bum-Jin Lee and Jin-Oh Chung and Hak-Nam Kim and Eun-Hee Kim and Sungheuk Jung and Hyosang Lee and Sang-Jun Lee and Young-Shick Hong
Numerous factors such as geographical origin, cultivar, climate, cultural practices, and manufacturing processes influence the chemical compositions of tea, in the same way as growing conditions and grape variety affect wine quality. However, the relationships between these factors and tea chemical compositions are not well understood. In this study, a new approach for non-targeted or global analysis, i.e., metabolomics, which is highly reproducible and statistically effective in analysing a diverse range of compounds, was used to better understand the metabolome of Camellia sinensis and determine the influence of environmental factors, including geography, climate, and cultural practices, on tea-making. We found a strong correlation between environmental factors and the metabolome of green, white, and oolong teas from China, Japan, and South Korea. In particular, multivariate statistical analysis revealed strong inter-country and inter-city relationships in the levels of theanine and catechin derivatives found in green and white teas. This information might be useful for assessing tea quality or producing distinct tea products across different locations, and highlights simultaneous identification of diverse tea metabolites through an NMR-based metabolomics approach.