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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
Green tea and the metabolism of 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline in F344 rats
Green tea and the metabolism of 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline in F344 rats
Author: C.W Embola and M.C Weisburger and J.H Weisburger
The effects of green tea intake on the metabolism of 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ) in the rat was studied. IQ belongs to a new class of mutagens and carcinogens, heterocyclic arylamines, formed during cooking through browning meats and fish, thus, in the food chain of most non-vegetarians. Ten adult male and female Fischer 344 rats were placed on a 2% solution of green tea and 10 control rats were on water for 6 weeks. Then, animals were administered a single dose of 40 mg/kg body weight of [2-14C]IQ by oral gavage. Twenty-four hour urine samples were collected and metabolites were separated by HPLC and quantitated by scintillation counting. Two minor and three major metabolites were isolated, including, small quantities of IQ itself. The rats on tea showed significant differences (P < 0.05) in the recovery of the three major metabolites, namely, IQ-sulfamate, IQ-5-O-sulfate, and IQ-5-O-glucuronide, respectively. Green tea, therefore, influences the manner in which the food carcinogen IQ is metabolized and excreted in urine. Formation of glucuronides, increased by green tea, represent a key means of detoxification of the heterocyclic amine, IQ.
The green tea polyphenol, (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate blocks nuclear factor-kappa B activation by inhibiting ikappaB kinase activity in the intestinal epithelial cell line, IEC-6
Author: Fajun Yang and Helieh Oz and Shirish Barve and Willem J. Devilliers and Craig J. McClain and Gary Varilek
Black Tea Is a Powerful Chemopreventor of Reactive Oxygen and Nitrogen Species: Comparison with Its Individual Catechin Constituents and Green Tea
Author: Anasuya Sarkar and Amar Bhaduri
Production of black tea [BT] results in biotransformation of catechins of green tea [GT] to theaflavins and thearubigins. BT was found to be more efficient than GT and its individual catechin constituents in proportionate amounts in abrogating production of NO and O−2 in activated murine peritoneal macrophages. In a reconstitution system of BT that is free of all catechins, stepwise addition of catechins showed that though all the constituents contributed to the overall effect of BT, theaflavin was the most powerful in abrogating NO production. RT-PCR analysis also showed theaflavin to be the most important constituent in down-regulating synthesis of iNOS. Clearly, BT containing theaflavin is an excellent chemopreventor against reactive oxygen and nitrogen species.
Determination of flavonols in green and black tea leaves and green tea infusions by high-performance liquid chromatography
Author: Huafu Wang and Keith Helliwell
Tea flavonols are potent antioxidants and make up 2–3% of the water-soluble solids from tea leaves. In this paper, the conditions necessary for hydrolysing and analysing flavonols in tea leaves and tea infusions are optimised and an isocratic elution system for the determination of the hydrolysed flavonols by high-performance liquid chromotography is presented. Aqueous ethanol was selected as the best solution for hydrolysing flavonoids in tea leaves. The contents of flavonols on a dry weight base in green tea leaves ranged from 0.83–1.59, 1.79–4.05, and 1.56–3.31 g/kg, and in black tea leaves from 0.24–0.52, 1.04–3.03, and 1.72–2.31 g/kg for myricetin, quercetin, and kaempferol, respectively. It was observed that the particle size of ground tea leaves significantly influenced the yield of flavonols. The contents of flavonols in different green tea infusions are given.
Antimutagenic activity of green tea and black tea extracts studied in a dynamic in vitro gastrointestinal model
Author: Cyrille Krul and Anja Luiten-Schuite and Aschwin Tenfelde and Ben van Ommen and Hans Verhagen and Robert Havenaar
An in vitro gastrointestinal model, which simulates the conditions in the human digestive tract, was used to determine potential antimutagenic activity of extracts of black tea and green tea. In this paper, results are presented on the availability for absorption of potential antimutagenic compounds present in tea and on the influence of the food matrix on this activity. Between 60 and 180 min after the tea was introduced into the model, antimutagenic activity was recovered from the jejunal compartment by means of dialysis: the dialysate appeared to inhibit the mutagenicity of the food mutagen MeIQx in the direct plate assay with Salmonella typhimurium (Ames test). The maximum inhibition was measured at 2 h after the start of the experiment and was comparable for black tea and green tea extract. To determine the influence of food matrices on the antimutagenic activity of tea, the model was loaded with black tea together with milk or a homogenized standard breakfast. The maximum inhibition observed with black tea was reduced by 22, 42 and 78% in the presence of whole milk, semi-skimmed milk, and skimmed milk, respectively. Whole milk and skimmed milk abolished the antimutagenic activity of green tea by more than 90%; for semi-skimmed milk the inhibition was more than 60%. When a homogenized breakfast was added into the model together with the black tea extract, the antimutagenic activity was completely eliminated. When tea and MeIQx were added together into the digestion model, MeIQx mutagenicity was efficiently inhibited, with green tea showing a slightly stronger antimutagenic activity than black tea. In this case, the addition of milk had only a small inhibiting effect on the antimutagenicity. Antioxidant capacity and the concentration of catechins were also measured in the jejunal dialysates. The reduction in antimutagenic activity corresponded with reduction in antioxidant capacity and with a decrease of concentration of three catechins, viz. catechin, epigallocatechin gallate and epigallocatechin. The in vitro gastrointestinal model appears to be a useful tool to study the antimutagenicity of food components.
Green Tea Constituent (−)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate Inhibits Topoisomerase I Activity in Human Colon Carcinoma Cells
Author: Sosamma J. Berger and Sanjay Gupta and Charles A. Belfi and David M. Gosky and Hasan Mukhtar
DNA topoisomerases I and II are essential for cell survival and play critical roles in DNA metabolism and structure. Inhibitors of topoisomerase constitute a novel family of antitumor agents with demonstrated clinical activity in human malignancies. The clinical use of these agents is limited due to severe toxic effects on normal cells. Therefore, there is a need to develop novel, nontoxic topoisomerase inhibitors that have the ability to spare normal cells. Recent studies have shown that green tea and its major polyphenolic constituent, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), impart growth inhibitory responses to cancer cells but not to normal cells. Based on the knowledge that EGCG induces DNA damage, cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis, we considered the possibility of the involvement of topoisomerase in the antiproliferative response of EGCG. Here, for the first time, we show that EGCG inhibits topoisomerase I, but not topoisomerase II in several human colon carcinoma cell lines. Based on this study it is tempting to suggest that combination of EGCG with other conventional topoisomerase inhibitors could be an improved strategy for treatment of colon cancer. The possible role of EGCG as a chemotherapeutic agent needs to be investigated.
Protective effect of green tea against benzo[a]pyrene-induced mutations in the liver of Big Blue® transgenic mice
Author: Tao Jiang and Barry W. Glickman and Johan G. de Boer
We assessed the ability of green tea to protect against benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P)-induced mutations in the liver of lacI transgenic male C57BL/6 Big Blue® mice. The mice were given a 2% Japanese green tea hot water extract as their sole source of drinking water for 10 weeks. After 7 weeks, they received a total dose of 150 mg/kg B[a]P. Treatment with B[a]P resulted in a two-fold higher lacI mutant frequency than the untreated controls (8.6±0.8×10−5 versus 4.0±0.7×10−5, P=0.01). B[a]P increased the frequency of its characteristic mutation (GC→TA transversions) nearly five-fold, from 0.75×10−5 to 3.7×10−5. In mice treated with green tea, the induced B[a]P mutant frequency decreased by 63%, while GC→TA transversions were reduced by 54%. Thus, we report evidence that green tea extract significantly suppressed B[a]P-induced mutation by lowering its specific transversion mutation in the lacI transgene in vivo. Further studies will address the correlation between the modulation of metabolic enzymes and the protection against induced mutation by green tea.
Cancer prevention with green tea and monitoring by a new biomarker, hnRNP B1
Author: Hirota Fujiki and Masami Suganuma and Sachiko Okabe and Eisaburo Sueoka and Naoko Sueoka and Nobukazu Fujimoto and Yuri Goto and Satoru Matsuyama and Kazue Imai and Kei Nakachi
The study of green tea polyphenols as cancer preventives is approaching a new era, with significant results accumulating rapidly. This paper briefly reviews four topics related to mechanisms of action of tea polyphenols: (I) identification of the genes commonly affected by EGCG, as demonstrated by Clontech’s Atlas™ cDNA Expression Array; (II) the significance of heterogenous nuclear ribonucleoprotein B1 (hnRNP B1) as a new biomarker for early detection of lung cancer, and inhibition of its expression by EGCG; (III) the synergistic or additive effects of EGCG with the cancer preventive agents, sulindac and tamoxifen, on induction of apoptosis in PC-9 cells and on inhibition of intestinal tumor development in multiple intestinal neoplasia (Min) mice; (IV) the results of a 10 year prospective cohort study demonstrating the effectiveness of daily consumption of green tea in preventing cancer, and a prototype study for developing green tea beverage as cancer preventive.
Green tea catechins enhance tumor development in the colon without effects in the lung or thyroid after pretreatment with 1,2-Dimethylhydrazine or 2,2′-dihydroxy-di-n-propylnitrosamine in male F344 rats
Author: Masao Hirose and Toru Hoshiya and Yasumoto Mizoguchi and Atsushi Nakamura and Keisuke Akagi and Tomoyuki Shirai
Modifying effects of green tea catechins (GTCs) on the post-initiation stage of colon, lung and thyroid carcinogenesis were examined in F344 male rats. Groups of 20 animals were given subcutaneous injections of 40 mg/kg body wt of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine twice a week for 2 weeks or oral administration of 0.1% 2,2′-dihydroxy-di-n-propylnitrosamine (DHPN) in the drinking water for 2 weeks for initiation. They then received diet containing 1 or 0.1% green tea catechin or basal diet alone for 33 weeks. Histopathological examination after final sacrifice showed that although total incidence and multiplicity of colon tumors were not significantly different from controls, values for colon adenomas were decreased while those for carcinomas and the average size of tumors were significantly increased in the 0.1% GTC group. A similar tendency was observed for the 1% GTC group. Incidences and/or multiplicity of lung hyperplasia and tumors, and thyroid lesions did not significantly vary among the DHPN-treated groups. These results indicate that GTCs do not inhibit, but rather may enhance colon carcinogenesis, while not influencing lung and thyroid carcinogenesis under the present experimental conditions.
Green tea polyphenols: DNA photodamage and photoimmunology
Author: Santosh K Katiyar and Bethany M Bergamo and Praveen K Vyalil and Craig A Elmets
Green tea is a popular beverage consumed worldwide. The epicatechin derivatives, which are commonly called ‘polyphenols’, are the active ingredients in green tea and possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties. Studies conducted by our group on human skin have demonstrated that green tea polyphenols (GTP) prevent ultraviolet (UV)-B-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPD), which are considered to be mediators of UVB-induced immune suppression and skin cancer induction. GTP treated human skin prevented penetration of UV radiation, which was demonstrated by the absence of immunostaining for CPD in the reticular dermis. The topical application of GTP or its most potent chemopreventive constituent (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) prior to exposure to UVB protects against UVB-induced local as well as systemic immune suppression in laboratory animals. Additionally, studies have shown that EGCG treatment of mouse skin inhibits UVB-induced infiltration of CD11b+ cells. CD11b is a cell surface marker for activated macrophages and neutrophils, which are associated with induction of UVB-induced suppression of contact hypersensitivity responses. EGCG treatment also results in reduction of the UVB-induced immunoregulatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-10 in skin as well as in draining lymph nodes, and an elevated amount of IL-12 in draining lymph nodes. These in vivo observations suggest that GTPs are photoprotective, and can be used as pharmacological agents for the prevention of solar UVB light-induced skin disorders associated with immune suppression and DNA damage.