A study by Pennsylvania State University has confirmed that there are anti-carcinogenic effects of consuming green tea.
The study asserts that the consumption of green tea has preventative effects against chronic diseases, which includes cancer.
Clearly a cup of green tea a day is easier on the body than chemotherapy. Green tea could be useful in preventing the development of oral cancer as well as preventing recurrence in people that have has surgical or chemotherapy treatments.
Green tea polyphenols are believed to be responsible for this cancer preventive effect and the antioxidant activity of the green tea polyphenols has been implicated as a potential mechanism.
Green tea and its constituents selectively induces apoptosis only in oral carcinoma cells, while EGCG was able to inhibit the growth and invasion of oral carcinoma cells. These different responses to green tea between normal and malignant cells were correlated with the induction of p57, a cell cycle regulator.
A study in 2002 initially discovered this connection in addition to finding that this same component that kills cancerous cells strengthens normal cells’ defense mechanisms.
In order to solidify the initial find, the research team at Pennsylvania State grew cancerous and healthy oral cells in petri dishes and later introduced the EGCG to both. Researchers were able to determine that the process by which the cancerous cells were terminated began in the mitochondria of the cells.
Researchers made sure to use levels of EGCG that would be found when consuming green tea as to not skew the results.
However, now the main concern is how to use this new information.
Oral cancer will case more than 8,000 deaths this year alone and around 43,250 Americans will be diagnosed with the disease.
The next step is to have human clinical trials with hopefully positive results.
