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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
Adsorption characteristics of Pb (II) on alkali treated tea residue
Author: Xiaoping Yang and Xiaoning Cui
The alkali treated tea residue (ATTR) was used as a novel adsorbent to remove Pb (II) from aqueous solution. The adsorption characteristics and underlying adsorption mechanism of Pb (II) on ATTR were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that ATTR had a highly porous surface structure. Comparative studies showed that the removal rate of Pb (II) on ATTR was significantly higher than that on green tea and green tea residue. Batch studies revealed that the solution pH was the key factor affecting Pb (II) adsorption and the maximum pH for efficient adsorption was about 4.5, and the adsorption equilibrium could be obtained within 90 min, and the adsorption kinetic followed the pseudo-second-order model. From the Langmuir isotherm, the maximum adsorption capacity for Pb (II) was 64.10 mg/g at 25 °C. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis revealed that carboxyl and hydroxyl functional groups were mainly responsible for the adsorption of Pb (II). These suggested that the low-cost ATTR could be used as a potential and appealing adsorbent for the removal of Pb (II) from aqueous solutions.
Characterisation of polysaccharides from green tea of Huangshan Maofeng with antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects
Author: Xinshan Lu and Yan Zhao and Yanfei Sun and Su Yang and Xingbin Yang
This study was to examine the hepatoprotective effects of polysaccharides from green tea of Huangshan Maofeng (HMTP) against CCl4-induced oxidative damage in mice. HMTP is an acidic heteropolysaccharide with galactose (35.0%, mol.%), arabinose (28.9%) and galacturonic acid (11.3%) being the main monosaccharide components. HMTP (400 and 800 mg/kg·bw) administered orally daily for 14 days before CCl4 administration significantly reduced the impact of CCl4 toxicity on the serum markers of liver damage, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, total-cholesterol and triglycerides. This method of HMTP administration also markedly restrained hepatic lipid peroxidation formation of malondialdehyde and 15-F2t isoprostanes, and elevated the antioxidant levels of hepatic glutathione and superoxide dismutase. These results together with liver histopathology indicated that HMTP exhibited hepatoprotection against CCl4-induced injury, which was found to be comparable to that of biphenyldicarboxylate. The hepatoprotective effects of HMTP may be due to both the inhibition of lipid peroxidation and the increase of antioxidant activity.
Modulation of colonic inflammation in Mdr1a−/− mice by green tea polyphenols and their effects on the colon transcriptome and proteome
Author: Matthew P.G. Barnett and Janine M. Cooney and Yvonne E.M. Dommels and Katia Nones and Diane T. Brewster and Zaneta Park and Christine A. Butts and Warren C. McNabb and William A. Laing and Nicole C. Roy
Animal models are an important tool to understand the complex pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). This study tested the anti-inflammatory potential of a green tea extract rich in polyphenols (GrTP) in the colon of the multidrug resistance targeted mutation (Mdr1a−/−) mouse model of IBD. Insights into mechanisms responsible for this reduction in inflammation were gained using transcriptome and proteome analyses. Mice were randomly assigned to an AIN-76A (control) or GrTP-enriched diet. At 21 or 24 weeks of age, a colonic histological injury score was determined for each mouse, colon mRNA transcript levels were assessed using microarrays, and colon protein expression was measured using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry protein identification. Mean colonic histological injury score of GrTP-fed Mdr1a−/− mice was significantly lower compared to those fed the control diet. Microarray and proteomics analyses showed reduced abundance of transcripts and proteins associated with immune and inflammatory response and fibrinogenesis pathways, and increased abundance of those associated with xenobiotic metabolism pathways in response to GrTP, suggesting that its anti-inflammatory activity is mediated by multiple molecular pathways. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α and signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 appear to be two key molecules which regulate these effects. These results support the view that dietary intake of polyphenols derived from green tea can ameliorate intestinal inflammation in the colon of a mouse model of IBD, and are in agreement with studies suggesting that consumption of green tea may reduce IBD symptoms and therefore play a part in an overall IBD treatment regimen.
Analysis of metabolic markers of tea origin by UHPLC and high resolution mass spectrometry
Author: Karl Fraser and Geoff A. Lane and Don E. Otter and Yacine Hemar and Siew-Young Quek and Scott J. Harrison and Susanne Rasmussen
Tea is an infusion made from the dried leaves of Camellia sinensis L. and is the second most consumed beverage in the world. It has been shown that factors such as fermentation methods, cultivar, geographical origin and season can affect the biochemical composition of tea. In this study, the biochemical composition of green, oolong and black commercial tea samples from around the world was studied using a non-targeted method utilising reversed phase ultra high pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC) and high resolution mass spectrometry. Principal component analysis of green, oolong and black tea extracts clearly showed that fermented tea can be resolved from non-fermented tea. When the non-targeted data were combined with the supervised multivariate technique, partial least squares discriminant analysis, the method was able to clearly distinguish ‘country of origin’ within green tea and to a lesser extent within a black tea sample set, plus provide indicative marker ions for the country of origin. Many of the significant components detected in this study are unknowns, emphasising the importance of un-biased non-targeted analytical techniques. This study highlights the potential efficacy of non-targeted UHPLC–mass spectrometry when combined with multivariate statistics to differentiate fermented from non-fermented tea and provide potential indicators of provenance of tea samples for further examination.
The tea protection against the reactive oxygen species produced via the photodynamic effect induced by daylight
Author: Martina Bancirova
The combination of light, photosensitizer and molecular oxygen is involved in the photodynamic effect. The life-time of ROS is extremely short and ROS can damage biological systems. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) are also produced upon excitation of the photosensitizer by visible light only. Some drinks and foods have the potential or definite antioxidant capacity to inhibit or terminate the ROS action. Usually, Paramecium caudatum is used to determine the toxic effect; well known is especially the toxicity determination of the photodynamic effect. The aim of this work was to explore if the protective effect of tea against ROS produced by the different types of photosensitizer (methylene blue, eosin, fluorescein, phthalocyanines) upon the excitation by visible light only is also possible to determine on the unicellular organism P. caudatum, and compare the protective effect of the black and green teas against ROS with the protective effect of ascorbic acid and Trolox (a standard for the total antioxidant capacity determination). The teas were able to prolong the P. caudatum life-time; the highest observed protection against the photodynamic ROS production (triggered by methylene blue) was caused by the black and green teas and was identical for both of them. The stronger protective antioxidant properties of the green tea were not observed. The pro-oxidant influence of the used antioxidants was not observed.
Catechins are not major components responsible for the beneficial effect of Camellia sinensis on the ovarian δ-ALA-D activity inhibited by cadmium
Author: Melina Bucco Soares and Aryele Pinto Izaguirry and Laura Musacchio Vargas and Andreas Sebastian Loureiro Mendez and Cristiano Chiapinotto Spiazzi and Francielli Weber Santos
Cadmium has been associated with a wide spectrum of deleterious effects on the reproductive tissues, including ovary. This investigation evaluated the protective role of Camellia sinensis (green, white and red teas) in the cadmium-induced inhibition of ovarian δ-aminolevulinate dehydratase (δ-ALA-D) activity in vitro and ex vivo. This study demonstrated that green and white teas restored the cow ovary δ-ALA-D activity inhibited by cadmium whereas red tea had no effect in vitro. In addition, green tea was able to restore enzyme activity inhibited after acute cadmium exposure in mice ovary. Teas infusions composition was assessed by HPLC in a quantitative assay for catechins, purine alkaloids and gallic acid as well as total polyphenol content. The greatest effect of green tea observed in vitro as well as the protective role presented in the ex vivo study could be attributed to the major content of phenols, but not catechins. In fact, catechins were not able to restore enzyme activity inhibited by cadmium, demonstrating that these compounds are not major components responsible for the beneficial effect of green tea observed in this study. This study demonstrated the helpful effect of green tea infusion in ameliorating a marker protein of cadmium intoxication in ovarian tissue.
Effects of aqueous brewing solution pH on the extraction of the major green tea constituents
Author: Quan V. Vuong and John B. Golding and Costas E. Stathopoulos and Paul D. Roach
The pH of the aqueous brewing solution was maintained at values ranging from 1 to 9 during the green tea extraction and the effects on the tea's extracted constituents were studied. The epistructured catechins were stable under acidic conditions but epimerized or degraded at pH ≥ 6. The extractable solids contained more epistructured catechins at pHs 3–5 but more non-epistructured catechins at pHs 6–7. More tea cream was obtained at pH 1 but the concentration of catechins, caffeine and theanine was low in this fraction. Therefore, to maximize the extraction of the epistructured catechins and to minimize their epimerization and degradation and to maximize the extraction of caffeine and theanine, the results suggest that the pH should be maintained between 3 and 5.3 during the aqueous brewing process.
Preparation of decaffeinated and high caffeine powders from green tea
Author: Quan V. Vuong and John B. Golding and Minh H. Nguyen and Paul D. Roach
The aims of this study were to develop optimal conditions for decaffeination and spray drying procedures to produce decaffeinated and high caffeine powders from green tea (Camellia sinensis). Blanching the tea leaves with water at 100 °C for 4 min at a water-to-tea ratio of 20:1 mL/g removed 83% of the caffeine while retaining 94% of the catechins. The optimal spray drying conditions, which gave the highest yield of green tea powder and the highest concentrations of the naturally occurring epistructured catechins were found to be 180 °C for the inlet temperature and 115 °C for the outlet temperature. Using these optimal conditions, a decaffeinated green tea powder (7 mg/g caffeine) and a high caffeine powder (95 mg/g) were produced. These two green tea powders had excellent physical properties and could be used as instant teas by consumers or utilized in the food, cosmetic and nutraceutical industries.
Tea and human health: The dark shadows
Author: Aditi Jain and Chanchal Manghani and Shrey Kohli and Darshika Nigam and Vibha Rani
Tea is one of the most popularly consumed beverage. Depending on the manufacturing process, different varieties of tea can be produced. The antioxidative and antimutagenic potential of tea in cardiovascular diseases, cancer and obesity have long been studied. These therapeutic and nutritional benefits of tea can be attributed to the presence of flavanoids. However, these flavanoids also have certain detrimental effects on human health when their consumption exceeds certain limits. The toxicity of these flavanoids can be attributed to the formation of reactive oxygen species in the body which causes damage to the DNA, lipid membranes etc. The aim of this review is to summarize briefly, the less studied evidences of various forms of toxicity associated with tea and its harmful effects on human health.
The effects of bathing in hot springs on the absorption of green tea catechin: A pilot study
Author: Shinya Hayasaka and Yasuaki Goto and Mari Maeda-Yamamoto
Japan is a major tea producing country, and green tea is known for its health benefits which are believed to be due to catechins. However, difficulties in maintaining an adequate amount of catechins in the blood have been reported. Another important health-promoting activity among the Japanese is bathing in hot springs. This pilot study examined whether the combined effects of green tea consumption and hot spring bathing improved absorption of green tea catechins. The study, with a comparative within-subject design involving two different intervention trials—green tea consumption with hot spring bathing and only green tea consumption—was conducted on 2 separate days. Plasma levels of catechin; (-)-epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCG) were analyzed from four volunteers. Plasma EGCG concentration was found to be higher for the combined trial of green tea consumption and hot spring bathing.