Green Tea Supplements

Drinking green tea not as beneficial as taking green tea supplements.

A study published in the December 2004 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (http://www.ajcn.org/) found that green tea extract supplements offered greater bioavailability of polyphenols and increase plasma antioxidant activity compared to tea consumed as a beverage. Green tea has been found to be protective against cancer and other diseases, and green tea polyphenols are taken in supplement form by many individuals to obtain their antioxidant and benefits.

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles assigned three different sequences Darjeeling black tea, green tea or green tea capsules containing similar

amounts of EGCG to 14 men and 16 women, with one week between each treatment period. Tea flavanol, theaflavin and caffeine were measured in the teas before administration to the participants. Blood samples collected before consumption of the tea or tea supplement, and at 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 hours measured the polyphenols epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin (EC), epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG).

Although polyphenol absorption after taking encapsulated green tea extract was delayed, it proved to be greater than polyphenol absorption from green or black tea consumed as a beverage. This led to the green tea supplement producing a small but significant increase in plasma antioxidant activity compared to black or green tea.

The authors conclude that “green tea extract supplements retain the beneficial effects of green and black tea and may be used in future chemoprevention studies to provide a large dose of tea polyphenols without the side effects of caffeine associated with green and black tea beverages.”