Introduction:
Green tea made from finely processed leaves of Camellia sinens is available as Chinese, Japanese, Organic and Indian green tea with light green sweet taste with astringent taste. Originally cultivated in East Asia , this plant grows as large as a shrub or tree. Today, Camellia sinensis grows throughout Asia and parts of the Middle East and Africa .
Green tea is made from unfermented leaves and reportedly contains the highest concentration of powerful antioxidants called polyphenols. Antioxidants are substances that fight free radicals -- damaging compounds in the body that change cells, damage DNA, and even cause cell death.In traditional Chinese and Indian medicine, practitioners used green tea as a stimulant, a diuretic (to help rid the body of excess fluid), an astringent (to control bleeding and help heal wounds), and to improve heart health.
Phytochemicals in Green Tea: Catechins are the polyphenolic antioxidant plant metabolites belong to flavonoids; are the gallic esters of catechins such as Epigallocatechins gallate present abundant in tea.
Green tea is made from unfermented leaves and reportedly contains the highest concentration of powerful antioxidants called polyphenols. Antioxidants are substances that fight free radicals -- damaging compounds in the body that change cells, damage DNA, and even cause cell death.In traditional Chinese and Indian medicine, practitioners used green tea as a stimulant, a diuretic (to help rid the body of excess fluid), an astringent (to control bleeding and help heal wounds), and to improve heart health.
Phytochemicals in Green Tea: Catechins are the polyphenolic antioxidant plant metabolites belong to flavonoids; are the gallic esters of catechins such as Epigallocatechins gallate present abundant in tea.
Epigalocatechins Gallate is the ester of epigallocatechol and gallic acid . It is an anti-oxidant that helps in protecting the skin from U.V radiation induced damage and tumour formation. Green tea also posses antibiotic properties due to its role in distrupting a specific stage of bacterial DNA replication process.
Protective Effects of Green Tea:
Protect against Coronary Artery Disease: Clinical studies that look at populations of people indicate that the antioxidant properties of green tea may help prevent atherosclerosis, particularly coronary artery disease. Population-based studies are studies that follow large groups of people over time or studies that compare groups of people living in different cultures or with different diets. In fact, researchers estimate that the rate of heart attack decreases by 11% with consumption of 3 cups of tea per day.
Protect against Cancer : A green tea concentrate catechins may help in metabolic defense against toxins capable of causing cancer. These catechins boosted the production of glutathionine –s-transferase enzymes are help in convert known carcinogens to non-toxic chemicals. Green tea polyphenol preparation ( polyphenol-E) limits the growth of colorectal cancer in rat treated with substance that induced cancer.
Protect against Kidney Diseases: Cyclosporine –A elevates the production of free radicals highly toxic to the kidneys . Rats given with green tea as their drinking water along with cyclosporin-A , produced fewer damaging free radicals.
Prevents Alzheimer’s Disease: Epigallocatechin gallate decreases the production of the Alzheimer’s related protein, beta-amyloid which can accumulate abnormally in the brain and lead to nerve damage and memory loss. After treating Alzheimer’s mice for several months with daily injections of pure epigallocatechins gallate the researchers observed a decrease in 54% of brain clogging Alzheimer’s plaques.
Protective effect of Green Tea against Parkinson’s Disease: Green tea protects the braincells against Parkinsonism’s disease. It possess neuroprotective effects, green tea polyphenols protect Dopamine neurons and the effect increases with amount consumed. This protective effect is mediated by inhibition of Ros-No pathway, a pathway that may contribute to the cell death in Parkinsonism’s disease.
Promising Hope for Skin Disorders: Green tea works by regulating the expression of caspase-14 a protein in genes that regulates the life cycle of a skin cell. It also showed decreased levels of proliferating cell nuclear antigen, a gene expressed when skin multiply. Before the treatment with green tea, the animal models showed near normal levels of proliferating cell nuclear antigen in only the basal layers.
Diabetes: Animal studies suggest that green tea may help prevent the development of type 1 diabetes and slow the progression once it has developed. In people with type 1 diabetes, their bodies make little or no insulin, which helps convert glucose or sugar into energy. Green tea may help regulate glucose in the body.
Liver Disease : Population-based clinical studies have shown that men who drink more than 10 cups of green tea per day are less likely to develop liver problems. Green tea also seems to protect the liver from the damaging effects of toxic substances such as alcohol. Animal studies have shown that green tea helps protect against liver tumors in mice.
Promotes Fat loss: Clinical studies suggest that green tea extract may boost metabolism and help burn fat. One study found that the combination of green tea and caffeine improved weight loss and maintenance in people who were overweight and moderately obese. Some researchers think that substances in green tea known as catechins are responsible for the herb's fat-burning effect.
Conclusions:
The useful effects of green tea has potential impact on the various organs of the body. So, experts agree that daily consumption of green tea is a tonic for sound health.
