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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
Comparison of anti-glycation capacities of several herbal infusions with that of green tea
Author: Su-Chen Ho and Szu-Pei Wu and Shyh-Mirn Lin and Ya-Li Tang
Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) are implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic microvascular complications and microvascular complications of the aged. Dietary compounds that can reduce glycation may reasonably serve as valuable adjuvants, promoting the health of the aged and diabetics. This work evaluates and compares the anti-glycation activities of different herbal infusions with that of green tea, a well-documented anti-glycation beverage. The anti-glycation activity of herbal infusions were determined based on the ability of an infusion to attenuate the formation of fluorescent AGEs in glucose- and methylglyoxal-mediated protein glycation systems. All of the tested herbs except for lemongrass and rosemary—balm, mint, black tea, sage and common verbena—had potent anti-glycation abilities that exceeded or equalled that of green tea. Additionally, the amounts of phenolics and flavonoid in the herbal infusions were highly correlated with their anti-glycation activity, revealing that the anti-glycation activity of herbal infusions was primarily attributable to phenolics, particularly flavonoids.
Effects of interval length between tasting sessions and sweetener level on long-term acceptability of novel green tea drinks
Author: Jung-Soo Son and Jae Hee Hong and Kwang-Ok Kim
The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of the interval length between sessions (1-day vs. 3-day), the sweetener level (Optimal (OP) vs. Low (LO)), and the number of stimuli (one vs. two) on long-term acceptability of a novel green tea drink. Two consumer groups (N = 80) rated their liking of two drinks (OP and LO) while another 4 consumer groups (N = 162) rated only one drink over 10 sessions at either 1-day or 3-day intervals. Repeated consumption led to an overall increase in liking of the novel drink even though the patterns of increase were different according to the sweetener level and the interval length. Higher sweetener level and shorter interval length might contribute to increase in liking score during the earlier sessions and stable liking during the later sessions for novel green tea drink.
Effect of green tea marinades on the formation of heterocyclic aromatic amines and sensory quality of pan-fried beef
Author: I. Quelhas and C. Petisca and O. Viegas and A. Melo and O. Pinho and I.M.P.L.V.O. Ferreira
The effect of a green tea marinade on the formation of heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAs) was examined in pan-fried beef cooked at 180–200 °C for 4 min each side. Different marinating times were assayed and unmarinated samples cooked in similar conditions provided reference HAs levels. A green tea marinade catechin rich was prepared taking 1 g of green tea and infusing with 125 ml of boiling tap water during 10 min. Four HAs were quantified in unmarinated and marinated meat samples during 1, 2, 4 and 6 h at 5 °C. Compared with the unmarinated samples, marinating in green tea resulted in a significant decrease (p < 0.05) of levels of PhIP and AαC. Person correlation indicated that the reduction of the levels of these HAs in meat marinated with the increase of marinating time was significant (respectively, r = −0.799, p < 0.0001; r = −0.631, p < 0.05). No reduction was observed for 4,8-DiMeIQx and MeIQx. The beef samples were tested for descriptive sensory analysis by two trained sensory panels to evaluate the influence of the green tea marinade in meat organoleptic characteristics. Analysis of results obtained through the t-test, revealed no significant differences (p < 0.05) between control samples and tea marinated samples for all the thirteen attributes evaluated.
Characterization of binding interactions between green tea flavanoids and milk proteins
Author: Zerrin Yuksel and Elif Avci and Yasar Kemal Erdem
Flavanoids are known to interact with proteins to form complexes whose properties depend on the structure of both the flavanoids and the protein. In this study, the fluorescent probe binding method (fluorimetry analysis) and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) analysis were used to characterize binding interactions of green tea (GT) flavanoids and milk proteins. The hydrophobicity of the surface sites of milk proteins was estimated using the reconstituted milk–green tea and casein–green tea systems. Reconstituted milk–green tea and casein–green tea samples were prepared with different solid-non-fat (SNF) and casein (Cn) concentrations, respectively. It was observed that the number of surface hydrophobic sites decreased in the presence of GT flavanoids for all SNF and Cn concentrations. The decrease in protein surface hydrophobicity was explained by the hydrophobic binding between milk proteins and GT flavanoids. The binding enthalpies obtained from ITC analysis implied that interaction was non-covalent between catechin and β-casein.
Physical properties and antioxidant activity of an active film from chitosan incorporated with green tea extract
Author: Ubonrat Siripatrawan and Bruce R. Harte
An active film from chitosan incorporated with aqueous green tea extract (GTE) was developed. The effects of GTE concentrations including 2, 5, 10 and 20% (w/v) of green tea in the film-forming solution on the film properties were determined by measuring physical properties, total polyphenolic content and antioxidant activity of the active films. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometry was carried out to observe the potential modifications of the chitosan films when incorporated with GTE. The results suggested that incorporation of GTE into chitosan films improved mechanical and water vapor barrier properties and enhanced polyphenolic content and antioxidant activity of the films. Changes in the FTIR spectra of the chitosan films were observed when GTE was incorporated, suggesting some interactions occurred between chitosan and the polyphenols from GTE. This study showed the benefits of incorporation of GTE into chitosan films and the potential for using the developed film as an active packaging.
Dietary green tea extract increases phase 2 enzyme activities in protecting against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion
Author: Masoumeh Akhlaghi and Brian Bandy
Green tea catechins are dietary antioxidant compounds that have been shown to protect against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury. Considering reports that catechins can induce phase 2 enzymes in cultured cells and some organs, we hypothesized that part of the protection to heart against IR injury may involve elevation of phase 2 enzyme activities. Rats were fed for 10 days with either control diet (sham and control groups) or the diet mixed with 0.25% green tea extract. At the end of 10 days, hearts were excised and subjected to global ischemia for 20 min followed by reperfusion for 2 hours. The hearts were compared for indices of cell death, oxidative stress, and phase 2 enzyme activities. Hearts from the green tea group had a 65% to 85% decrease in markers of apoptosis, a tendency to higher total glutathione, and higher activities of the phase 2 enzymes glutamate cysteine ligase and quinone reductase. The results support a possible involvement of phase 2 enzymes in the protection by green tea catechins against myocardial IR injury.
In vitro inhibition of α-glucosidases and glycogen phosphorylase by catechin gallates in green tea
Author: Ogusa Kamiyama and Fujiko Sanae and Kyoko Ikeda and Yasuhiko Higashi and Yasuhiro Minami and Naoki Asano and Isao Adachi and Atsushi Kato
We investigated in vitro inhibition of mammalian carbohydrate-degrading enzymes by green tea extract and the component catechins, and further evaluated their inhibitory activities in cell cultures. The extract showed good inhibition toward rat intestinal maltase and rabbit glycogen phosphorylase (GP) b, with IC50 values of 45 and 7.4 μg/ml, respectively. The polyphenol components, catechin 3-gallate (CG), gallocatechin 3-gallate (GCG), epicatechin 3-gallate (ECG), and epigallocatechin 3-gallate (EGCG), were good inhibitors of maltase, with IC50 values of 62, 67, 40, and 16 μM, respectively, and EGCG also showed good inhibition toward maltase expressed on Caco-2 cells, with an IC50 value of 27 μM. The ungallated catechins, such as catechin, gallocatechin (GC), epicatechin (EC), and epigallocatechin (EGC), showed no significant inhibition toward GP b, whereas the gallated catechins CG, GCG, ECG, and EGCG inhibited the enzyme, with IC50 values of 35, 6.3, 27, and 34 μM. From multiple inhibition studies by Dixon plots, GCG appears to bind a new allostelic site, the indole inhibitor site. These gallated catechins also inhibited glucagon-stimulated glucose production dose-dependently, with IC50 values ranging from 33 to 55 μM. Dietary supplementation with these gallated catechins or the green tea extract containing them, which inhibits both α-glucosidases and GP in vitro and in cell culture, would contribute to the protection or improvement of type 2 diabetes.
Quality and antioxidant property of green tea sponge cake
Author: Tsong-Ming Lu and Ching-Ching Lee and Jeng-Leun Mau and Sheng-Dun Lin
Green tea powder was used to substitute 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30% of wheat flour to make sponge cakes, called the control, GT10, GT20, and GT30, respectively. The viscosity and specific gravity in cake batter, and hardness, gumminess, chewiness, crumb a value, protein, total dietary fibre, ash, and various catechin content of baked cakes increased with increasing green tea levels whereas the volume, cohesiveness, adhesiveness, springiness, resilience, crust L, a, b and crumb L, b values of samples showed a reverse trend. No differences were found in all hedonic sensory results for control, GT10, and GT20 whereas GT30 were rated lower in all sensory results. Green tea cake contained a greater variety of catechins, and had good antioxidant activity, reducing power, scavenging ability on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radicals and chelating ability on ferrous ions. Overall, green tea cake could be developed as a food with more effective antioxidant properties.
Using natural dietary sources of antioxidants to protect against ultraviolet and visible radiation-induced DNA damage: An investigation of human green tea ingestion
Author: Helena Malhomme de la Roche and Susan Seagrove and Anisha Mehta and Preshita Divekar and Sandra Campbell and Alison Curnow
Oral ingestion of green tea is a potent dietary source of antioxidant polyphenols. These compounds are of interest as they may be able to provide additional protection to the body to help prevent the deleterious effects of ultraviolet A and visible radiation (UVA/VIS) produced indirectly via reactive oxygen species (ROS) in sunlight exposed skin. A small clinical study was conducted in ten healthy adult volunteers. Samples of whole blood were obtained from each before and 30, 60 and 90 min following ingestion of three breakfast cups of green tea (540 ml in total) prepared in a standardised manner. Peripheral leucocytes were isolated from each blood sample and exposed to increasing periods of UVA/VIS irradiation in the laboratory (0, 9, 12 or 18 min). Alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis (the comet assay) was then conducted to determine the level of DNA damage in each sample from each individual. The findings support those of our previous pilot study and indicate that drinking green tea did significantly reduce the genotoxic effects observed in peripheral blood cells 60 min following ingestion when artificially exposed to 12 min of UVA/VIS irradiation in the laboratory. It is postulated that this protection is afforded by the polyphenol compounds (known to be contained within green tea) via scavenging or quenching of the damaging ROS induced by this form of light exposure. Further investigation should consider whether this dietary-induced protection could be extended to cells of the skin.
Association between green tea consumption and tooth loss: Cross-sectional results from the Ohsaki Cohort 2006 Study
Author: Yasushi Koyama and Shinichi Kuriyama and Jun Aida and Toshimasa Sone and Naoki Nakaya and Kaori Ohmori-Matsuda and Atsushi Hozawa and Ichiro Tsuji
Objective To examine the association between green tea consumption and tooth loss. Methods We analyzed cross-sectional data from the Ohsaki Cohort 2006 Study. Usable self-administered questionnaires about green tea consumption and tooth loss were returned from 25,078 persons (12,019 men and 13,059 women) aged 40 to 64 years in Japan. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) for tooth loss using 3 cut-off points of 10, 20, and 25 teeth relative to each category of green tea consumption. Results Consumption of ≥ 1 cup/day of green tea was significantly associated with decreased odds for tooth loss, and the association appeared to fit a threshold model. In men, the multivariate-adjusted ORs for tooth loss with a cut-off point of < 20 teeth associated with different frequencies of green tea consumption were 1.00 (reference) for < 1 cup/day, 0.82 (95% CI, 0.74–0.91) for 1–2 cups/day, 0.82 (95% CI, 0.73–0.92) for 3–4 cups/day, and 0.77 (95% CI, 0.66–0.89) for ≥ 5 cups/day. The corresponding data for women and the results for cut-off points of 10 and 25 teeth were essentially the same. Conclusions The present findings indicate an association of green tea consumption with decreased odds for tooth loss.