Green Tea may have anti cancer properties

admin — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:49:23 +0000

An article in New Scientist magazine mentions that numerous studies suggest that green tea protects against a range of cancers, including lung, prostate and breast cancer. The reason cited is the antioxidant epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), according to Hirofumi Tachibana’s team at Kyushu University in Japan. Their research showed that growth of human lung cancer cells with a cell receptor called 67 LR is slowed significantly after drinking just two or three cups of green tea, which contains EGCG. The research also showed that 67 LR is involved in the propagation of prion diseases such as human Creutzfeldt-Jakob (related to mad cow disease in animals). This is not direct evidence of tea’s effect on prion diseases, but a hint that EGCG’s effect on 67 LR is an interesting lead in the search for treatments.

According to the U.S. National Cancer Institute, in laboratory studies using animals, catechins inactivated oxidants before cell damage occurred, reduced the number and size of tumors, and inhibited the growth of cancer cells.

Another study from the Life Science journal Carcinogenesis demonstrated that green tea, in combination with tamoxifen, is effective in suppressing breast cancer growth in vitro human breast cancer tumors and in vivo animal experiments in mice.

Topical applications of green tea extracts (EGCG) can also have protective effects on UVA- and UVB-induced skin damage.

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Green Tea may have anti cancer properties