Beneficial Effects of Green Tea—A Review – Part 5: Green Tea and Human Health

Carmen Cabrera, PhD, Reyes Artacho, PhD, Rafael Gime´nez, PhD
Departamento de Nutricio´ n y Bromatologı´a, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Granada, Granada, SPAIN

Green Tea and Human Health

Green tea has been considered a medicine and a healthful beverage since ancient times. The traditional Chinese medicine has recommended this plant for headaches, body aches and pains, digestion, depression, detoxification, as an energizer and, in general, to prolong life. Green tea leaves contain three main components which act upon human health: xanthic bases (caffeine and theophylline), essential oils and especially, polyphenolic compounds. Caffeine acts mainly upon the central nervous system, stimulating wakefulness, facilitating ideas association and decreasing the sensation of fatigue [38]. Some of the effects caused by caffeine are influenced by theophylline
tea content. Theophylline induces psychoactive activity, it also has a slightly inotrope and vasodilator effect, and a much  higher diuretic effect than caffeine. However, its most interesting effects can be seen at the bronchopulmonar and respiratory level. Theophylline causes a non-specific relaxation on the bronchial smooth muscle, and respiratory stimulation is also observed. Essential oils are in a great extent volatile and they evaporate from the beverage after some time, thus it is not very convenient to overextend the brewing time. Among their properties, the one of facilitating digestion must be highlighted [5,39]. Green tea is the type of tea with the higher percentage of essential oils [38 –39]. However, green tea has received a great deal of attention especially due to its content of polyphenols, which are strong antioxidants and present important biological properties. Numerous studies have also demonstrated that the aqueous extract of GTP possesses antimutagenic, antidiabetic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and hypocholesterolemic properties [21,40 – 44]. Beneficial effects in oral diseases such as protection against dental caries, periodontal disease, and tooth loss (which may significantly affect a person’s overall health) have been also described [5].

Among all GTP, catechins and gallic acid have been especially considered to be the main players in the beneficial effects on human health next detailed post.

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