Why does green tea seem to improve longevity?
Green tea comes from the plant Camellia sinensis, and is made from unfermented leaves. Freshly harvested tea leaves are immediately steamed to prevent fermentation and destroy enzymes.[1] This helps to preserve the natural polyphenols in green tea, which contribute to many health-promoting properties. Unlike black tea, which is oxidized and contains 50 mg of caffeine/cup, which is twice the caffeine content of green tea, green tea has slightly different types of flavonoids.
Studies have found that those who drink at least 5 cups of green tea per day are 76% less likely to die from all causes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) when compared to those who didn’t.[2]
Supplementation with green tea derived natural products, may assist in the growth or maintenance of skeletal muscle and subsequently delay the onset of age-related metabolic diseases in older adults.[3]
Green Tea Polyphenol (‒)-Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate (EGCG)
The most abundant component of green tea is (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), which has been the focus of many clinical trials, revealing that EGCG possesses antiproliferative, antimutagenic, antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral and chemopreventive effects.[4][5]
Cinnamoylated flavoalkaloid
Green tea and especially loose leaf tea of the cultivar mountain shēng (raw) pu'er “Yiwu” prolonged lifespan the longest. ETCs (7 ester-type flavoalkaloids) are the major anti-aging components, among which CFs (4 cinnamoylated flavoalkaloids) is the strongest one with a 73% lifespan extension in Caenorhabditis elegans. The addition of ETCs confers lifespan and healthspan improvement via multiple mechanisms including the conserved metabolic pathway (the insulin/IGF-1 signaling (IIS) and dietary restriction (DR) mimetic pathways), glucocorticoid-inducible kinase-1 (SKN-1) and heat shock factor 1 (HSF 1) stress resistance pathway, and AAK-2 (the AMPK catalytic subunit)-NAD + -SIR 2.1 energy sensors pathway.[6]
References
- ↑ Ali, R. B., & Almokhtar, M. N. (2023). Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Health Benefits. Journal of Medical Sciences, 18(2), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.51984/joms.v18i2.2784
- ↑ Shin, S., Lee, J. E., Loftfield, E., Shu, X. O., Abe, S. K., Rahman, M. S., ... & Sinha, R. (2022). Coffee and tea consumption and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease and cancer: A pooled analysis of prospective studies from the Asia Cohort Consortium. International journal of epidemiology, 51(2), 626-640. PMID: 34468722 PMC9308394 DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyab161
- ↑ Liu, H. W., & Chang, S. J. (2023). Effects of green tea–derived natural products on resistance exercise training in sarcopenia: A retrospective narrative mini-review. Journal of Food and Drug Analysis, 31(3), 381-386. https://doi.org/10.38212/2224-6614.3470
- ↑ Wan, C. C., Hu, X., Li, M., Rengasamy, K. R., Cai, Y., & Liu, Z. (2023). Potential protective function of green tea polyphenol EGCG against high glucose-induced cardiac injury and aging. Journal of Functional Foods, 104, 105506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2023.105506
- ↑ Machin, A., & Putri, W. S. (2023). Green Tea with Its Active Compound EGCG for Acute Ischemic Stroke Treatment. In Recent Advances in the Health Benefits of Tea. IntechOpen. https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/83613
- ↑ Ke, J. P., Li, J. Y., Yang, Z., Wu, H. Y., Yu, J. Y., Yang, Y., ... & Bao, G. H. (2024). Unraveling anti-aging mystery of green tea in C. elegans: Chemical truth and multiple mechanisms. Food Chemistry, 460, 140510. PMID: 39033639 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.140510
