An Overview of Research on the Potential Health Benefits of Tea

 

Tea's Role In Cancer Risk Reduction

Preliminary research suggests that the flavonoids in tea could play a role in human cancer risk reduction possibly by combating free radical damage, inhibiting uncontrolled cell growth (cell proliferation), and by promoting programmed cell death (apoptosis). Leading scientists worldwide are actively studying these potential mechanisms and clinical trials and population studies are underway. More evidence is needed before any definitive conclusions can be drawn. Recent findings include:

  • A recent study found that smokers who drank four cups of decaffeinated Green Tea per day demonstrated a 31 percent decrease in biomarkers of oxidative DNA damage in white blood cells as compared to those who drank four cups of water. Oxidative DNA damage is implicated in the development of various forms of cancer21.
  • Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) may protect normal cells from cancer-causing hazards as well as eliminate cancer cells though apoptosis. Researchers tested the potential anti-cancer benefits of Green Tea polyphenol, EGCG, in hamster cells and discovered that EGCG suppressed DNA changes and damage from carcinogens. EGCG also protected from further damage from the carcinogens and inhibited growth and multiplication of cancer cells22.

Digestive Cancers

  • An epidemiological study conducted by the University of North Carolina found consumption of the equivalent of 2.5 cups of tea per day or more was associated with a 60 percent drop in rectal cancer risk among Russian women from Moscow, as compared to women who drank relatively less than 1.2 cups of tea per day. Those women who drank approximately 1.2 to 2.5 cups of tea per day had a 52 percent reduction in the risk of rectal cancer23.
  • Based on data from the NHANES I Follow-Up study (NHEFS), researchers found that tea drinkers had about a 42 percent reduced risk of colon cancer as compared to non-tea drinkers. Men who drank more than 1.5 cups of tea per day were found to have a 70 percent lower colon cancer risk24.
  • Researchers who followed a group of over 34,000 postmenopausal healthy women between 55 - 69 years of age for 12 years found that those consuming high levels of catechins experienced up to a 45 percent decrease in the instances of rectal cancer. Catechins are a class of flavonoids found in tea, fruits and vegetables. Catechins derived from tea were most strongly linked to a decrease in rectal cancer25.
  • The Iowa Women's Study, which followed post-menopausal women between the ages of 55 and 69 for eight years, found that participants who drank two or more cups of tea per day had a 32 and 60 percent reduced risk of developing digestive and urinary tract cancers, respectively26.
  • A study conducted with members of the Shanghai Cohort (18,244 men aged 45-64 years at recruitment with up to 12 years of follow-up) discovered a statistically significant inverse relationship between positive tea polyphenol levels (as measured in urine) and gastric cancer27.
  • A large population-based case-control study found an inverse relationship between Green Tea consumption and the risk of colon, rectal and pancreatic cancer. Male participants, who drank the equivalent of 4.5 servings of tea per day, had an 18 percent decrease in colon cancer risk and 28 percent decreased risk of rectal cancer. Female participants, who drank 3 servings of tea per day, were observed to have a decreased risk of colon and rectal cancer by 33 percent and 43 percent, respectively. Risk of pancreatic cancer was also reduced in both men and women by 37 percent and 47 percent respectively28.
  • Researchers examined whether a combination of two compounds known to exhibit anti-cancer activity, Green Tea polyphenol, EGCG, and sulindac (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug), would work synergistically to prevent colon cancer carcinogenesis in rats. Findings suggested that EGCG and sulindac worked together to suppress pre-cancerous lesion formation by enhancing programmed cell death, or apoptosis29.
  • Researchers sought to investigate the effect of Black Tea polyphenols (BTP) on induced DNA damage to colon mucosa in an animal model. Findings suggest that induced DNA damage to the colon mucosa is prevented by consumption of Black Tea polyphenols30.
  • Major compounds of Green and Black Tea, EGCG and theaflavins respectively, are known to inhibit proteins which are closely associated with tumor growth and metastasis. These polyphenols exhibited apoptosis-inducing activity for human colon cancer cell lines31.
  • Researchers in Taiwan discovered a link between EGCG and cancer risk reduction. The researchers found that the Green Tea polyphenol inhibited proliferation of the cancer cells by inducing cell death and blocking cell cycle progression32.
  • According to a study conducted by the University of Arizona, participants who drank iced Black Tea and citrus peel had a 42 percent reduced risk of skin cancer33. Hot Black Tea consumption is associated with a significantly lower risk of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), a form of skin cancer; tea concentration (strength), brewing time and temperature all influence the potential protective effects of hot Black Tea on SCC34. Oral consumption of Green or Black Tea decreased the number of tumors in mice following exposure to UV radiation35. Green Tea polyphenols may have cancer preventive potential, especially in the case of solar UV-induced cancer36. Research suggests that compounds in Green Tea may protect skin from ultraviolet (UV) radiation-induced damage when applied topically37. Topical treatment of Green Tea polyphenols on human skin prior to UV exposure inhibited indicators of DNA damage, thus inhibiting photocarcinogenesis, or UV-induced skin cancer38. Experiments that show that administration of Green Tea, Black Tea or specific flavonoids in tea inhibited the growth of established nonmalignant and malignant skin tumors in tumor-bearing mice. In addition, oral administration of Black Tea inhibited DNA synthesis and enhanced cell death (apoptosis) in both nonmalignant and malignant tumors in tumor-bearing mice39.

Oral Cancer

  • A human intervention trial the effect of treating superficial precancerous lesions (leukoplakia) in the mucosal lining of the mouth with a mixed tea product. After the six-month trial, partial regression of the lesions was observed in 37.9 percent of the group treated with tea as compared to only 10 percent of those treated with a placebo40.
  • Researchers examined the effects of tea and curcumin, a spice and food-coloring agent, on oral cancer in hamsters. Hamsters were treated with a cancer-causing solution topically inside the cheek three times a week for six weeks. Two days after the last treatment of the solution, the hamsters were given Green Tea as drinking fluid or curcumin applied topically three times per week, the combination of Green Tea and curcumin treatment, or no treatment for 18 weeks. At the end of this period, the scientists observed that the combination of tea and curcumin significantly decreased the number of visible tumors and tumor volume. Furthermore, tea alone and in combination with curcumin increased cancer cell death, or apoptosis41.

Studies comparing groups of mice treated with a tobacco-specific carcinogen and receiving either water or water enriched with tea-derived antioxidants found that the tea-fed mice developed 24 percent fewer lung tumors and the average size of the tumors was 38 percent smaller as compared to the water-fed mice42,43.

Ovarian Cancer
A case-control study conducted in China, which employed 254 patients with histologically confirmed epithelial ovarian cancer and 652 control subjects, determined tea consumption based on a validated questionnaire and found that, after accounting for demographic, lifestyle and familial factors, ovarian cancer risk declined with increasing frequency and duration of overall tea consumption44.