The Tea World

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Green tea 'may protect the heart'

BBC News Last Updated: Monday, 28 February, 2005, 01:01 GMT

Green tea has been linked with a series of health benefits

Green tea could help protect against the damage caused by heart attacks and strokes, researchers suggest.A chemical found in the tea, which has been drunk for over 4,000 years, has been shown to reduce the amount of cell death which follows such trauma.
Cell death leads to tissue death and even organ failure.
Experts from the UK's Institute of Child Health carried out the study, published in the journal of the Federation of Experimental Biology.

Green tea has, in the past, been associated with a reduced risk of coronary artery disease

Belinda Linden, British Heart Foundation

Green tea was frequently used in the past as fluid supply for patients suffering from infectious diseases, but recently researchers have begun to scientifically determine the health benefits of green tea.

Tea 'could help prevent cancer'

BBC News Tuesday, 9 April, 2002, 00:53 GMT 01:53 UK

Drinking tea could help prevent cancers, say scientists.

They say antioxidants in tea offer protective benefits against cancers of the stomach and oesophagus (gullet).

A study in China showed tea drinkers were around half as likely to develop the cancers as others who did not drink tea.

The researchers looked to see whether certain chemicals called polyphenols, which are present in tea, were present in the urine of the men they studied.

[A cup of tea could help prevent cancer]

Green tea beneficial in fight against cancer

World: Europe

Scientists in Sweden say they have discovered why green tea, a popular drink in China and Japan, has a protective effect against some forms of cancer.
A report by researchers in Stockholm, published in the scientific journal 'Nature', says that a substance in green tea slows down or stops the growth of new blood vessels.
A BBC science correspondent says that as cancer tumours are dependent on a constantly growing network of blood vessels to supply them with food and oxygen, they will shrink and may even disappear, if the network stops growing.
He says its now clear why moderate consumption of green tea can be beneficial. He says that unlike black tea, green tea is not squashed to rupture its cells and cause fermentation reactions as it dries.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/309196.stm

Green tea extract may fight HIV

A chemical in green tea could be used in drugs

Green tea could form the basis of a new generation of HIV drugs, say experts.

Scientists in Japan have found a component of green tea can stop HIV from binding to healthy immune cells, which is how the virus spreads.

Their laboratory tests suggest a chemical called Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) protects cells.

Writing in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the scientists said the discovery could lead to new treatments to fight the disease.

Green tea 'can block cancer'

Green tea 'can block cancer'

Green tea may block cancerGreen tea's ability to fight cancer is even more potent and varied than scientists suspected, research suggests.
Scientists already know that green tea contains anti-oxidants which may have a protective effect against cancer.
But now they have discovered that chemicals in the tea also shut down a key molecule which can play a significant role in the development of cancer.
It's likely that the compounds in green tea act through many different pathways
Professor Thomas Gasiewicz The molecule, known as the aryl hydrocarbon (AH) receptor, has the ability to activate genes - but not always in a positive way.
Tobacco smoke and dioxins, in particular, disrupt the functioning of the molecule and cause it to trigger potentially harmful gene activity.
The researchers, from Rochester University, found that two chemicals in green tea inhibit AH activity.

Similar compounds
Both chemicals are similar to compounds called flavonoids, which are found in broccoli, cabbage, grapes and red wine, and which are also known to help prevent cancer.
Researcher Professor Thomas Gasiewicz said: "Green tea may work differently than we thought to exert its anti-cancer activity.
"It's likely that the compounds in green tea act through many different pathways."
The Rochester team showed that the chemicals shut down the AH receptor in cancerous mouse cells.
Early results indicate the same is true in human cells.
However, the scientists say that the results in the laboratory do not necessarily translate to everyday life as the crucial factor is how green tea is broken down inside the body.
In addition, there are a lot of differences between various types of green tea.
Dr Julie Sharp, a science information office at Cancer Research UK, said: "This research describes additional properties of green tea that may be beneficial but which have yet to be tested properly.
"The causes of cancer are complex and both diet and our genetic make-up act together to influence our risk of developing the disease.
"Cancer Research UK is currently involved in a large-scale study of diet and health that is researching the eating habits of over half a million people in 10 European countries to try and help unravel this complexity."
Research has also suggested that green tea may help to reduce the risk of rheumatoid arthritis and to lower cholesterol levels.
The research is published in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology.

Green tea 'may keep HIV at bay'

Drinking green tea could help in the fight against HIV, research suggests.Scientists found a component called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) prevents HIV from binding to immune system cells by getting there first.
Once EGCG has bound to immune system cells there is no room for HIV to take hold in its usual fashion.
However, experts said the joint UK and US work, which appears in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, was at a very preliminary stage.

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