Tea is the most widely consumed beverage aside from water. Tea is manufactured in three basic forms. Green tea is prepared in such a way as to preclude the oxidation of green leaf polyphenols. During black tea production oxidation is promoted so that most of these substances are oxidized. Oolong tea is a partially oxidized product. Of the approximately 2.5 million metric tons of dried tea manufactured, only 20% is green tea and less than 2% is oolong tea. Green tea is consumed primarily in China, Japan, and a few countries in North Africa and the Middle East. Fresh tea leaf is unusually rich in the flavanol group of polyphenols known as catechins which may constitute up to 30% of the dry leaf weight. Other polyphenols include flavanols and their glycosides, and depsides such as chlorogenic acid, coumarylquinic acid, and one unique to tea, theogallin (3-galloylquinic acid). Caffeine is present at an average level of 3% along with very small amounts of the other common methylxanthines, theobromine and theophylline. The amino acid theanine (5-N-ethylglutamine) is also unique to tea. Tea accumulates aluminum and manganese. You can buy Green-Tea-Extract here. Green tea extract is also used in combination with hoodia for weight loss.

Green Tea Extract, 100 mg, yielding 35 mg EGCG - Source Naturals
Green Tea Extract offers a convenient way to get the benefits of green tea in a highly concentrated green tea pill form.  This green tea extract is standardized for bioflavonoid-like antioxidants known as polyphenols, particularly (-)-Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG).  EGCG has been found in scientific studies to be a potent antioxidant. Green tea antioxidants are likely to become more popular with time.

Supplement Facts
Calcium
Green Tea Extract Yielding 35 mg epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)

Green Tea herb benefits:
Antiplatelet activity of green tea catechins is mediated by inhibition of cytoplasmic calcium increase.

Consumption of green tea is associated with lower serum concentration of total cholesterol in Japanese healthy workers age 40-69 years; however, green tea consumption was unrelated to serum HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides.

Some green tea catechins are chondroprotective and that consumption of green tea may be prophylactic for arthritis and may benefit the arthritis patient by reducing inflammation and slowing cartilage breakdown. Further studies will be required to determine whether these compounds access the joint space in sufficient concentration and in a form capable of providing efficacy in vivo.

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) has been suggested to have antiviral activity. To determine the effects of EGCG on HIV infection, peripheral blood lymphocytes infected with HIV were incubated with increasing concentrations of EGCG. EGCG strongly inhibited the replication of the HIV virus.

EGCG targets multiple MMP-mediated cellular events in cancer cells and provides a new mechanism for the anticancer properties of that molecule.

Green tea herb has preventive effects on both chronic inflammatory diseases and lifestyle-related diseases (including cardiovascular disease and cancer), resulting in prolongation of life span

Green tea and emphysema
Flavanol (-)epigallocatechin-3-gallate is shown to be a potent natural inhibitor of leukocyte elastase that may be used to reduce elastase-mediated progression to emphysema and tumor invasion.

Heart disease and colon cancer
Sevaral cups of green tea a day over the long-term may reduce the risk of death from colorectal cancer and heart disease. Compared to people who drank less than one cup a day, seven or more cups of green tea a day may reduce the risk of dying from heart disease by a 75 per cent, report scientists from Okayama University in the Annals of Epidemiology. Additionally, a reduction in the risk of colorectal cancer mortality of 31 per cent was found for people who drank more than seven cups of green a day, compared to people who frank less than three cups a day. Etsuji Suzuki, who led the study, says green tea contains between 30 and 40 per cent of water-extractable polyphenols, while black tea (green tea that has been oxidized by fermentation) contains between 3 and 10 per cent. The four primary polyphenols found in fresh tealeaves are epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epigallocatechin (EGC) epicatechin gallate (ECG), and epicatechin (EC). Etsuji Suzuki recruited 14,001 elderly residents in Japan, of which 12,251 individuals were analyzed to estimate the various associations between green tea consumption and all-cause mortality, cancer and CVD. During an average of 5 years of follow-up, 1,224 participants died, 400 were due to cancer, and 405 from cardiovascular disease (CVD). Compared to people who drank less than one cup per day, drinking seven or more cups of green tea a day was associated with a 55 and 75 percent lower risk of all-cause and CVD mortality, respectively, says Etsuji Suzuki. Furthermore, green tea consumption was associated with lower risk of colorectal cancer mortality.
    Comments: We are concerned that excessive consumption of green tea may lead to insomnia.

Green tea herb and Leukemia
Doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota found that of four patients who started drinking green tea or taking green tea extracts, three showed clear improvements in their condition. The patients all had chronic lymphocytic leukemia, or CLL, a form of leukemia that usually arises during or after middle-age and typically progresses slowly. CLL is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, in which abnormal white blood cells replace healthy blood cells. The patients all started using green tea on their own after hearing media reports about a lab study that study showed that a compound found in green tea, known as EGCG, was able to kill cancer cells that were taken from CLL patients and put in a test tube with the tea compound. In interviewing the patients and reviewing their records, the doctors found that three showed signs of a regression in their cancer after they started to drink green tea or take green tea capsules.

Green tea herb and psoriasis
Green tea may influence psoriasis and other inflammatory skin diseases by regulating the expression of Caspase-14, a protein in genes that regulates the life cycle of skin cells.  Caspase-14 guides cells by telling them when to differentiate, die off and form a skin barrier. In people with psoriasis, that process is interrupted, and the skin cells don't die before more are created and the resulting psoriasis lesions form.

Source Naturals - Green Tea Extract, 100 mg (Yielding 35 mg EGCG), 60 Tablets Source Naturals Green Tea Extract offers a convenient way to get the benefits of green tea in a highly concentrated form.  The extract is standardized for bioflavonoid-like antioxidants known as polyphenols, particularly (-)-Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG).  EGCG has been found in scientific studies to be a potent antioxidant.

Green Tea herb Side effects
Green tea has caffeine, so avoid drinking or taking the capsules in the evening.

Green Tea study
Tea beverage in chemoprevention of prostate cancer: a mini-review.
Saleem M. Nutr Cancer. 2003;47(1):13-23.
Department of Dermatology, University of Wisconsin, 1300 Medical Science Center, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
Because prostate cancer has a long latency period and is typically diagnosed in elderly men, it represents an ideal candidate disease for chemoprevention. Therefore, even a modest delay achieved through intervention could have a significant impact on the outcome of this disease. Epidemiological and laboratory studies have provided convincing evidence that diet, genetic factors, and lifestyle are major causes of prostate cancer. Although surgery, radiotherapy, and hormone therapy are the most widely accepted curative options for a selected group of patients suffering from prostate cancer, the side effects of these treatments are many. In recent years, many dietary agents have been being described that show a wide range of chemopreventive effects in cell culture and selected animal model systems of prostate carcinogenesis. One such agent is the beverage tea, which, next to water, is the most popularly consumed beverage in the world. The epidemiological studies and recent data, amassed from various laboratories around the world, provide evidence that tea polyphenols such as epigallocatechin-3-gallate, epigallocatechin, and epicatechin-3-gallate may have the potential to lower the risk of prostate cancer in the human population. Recently, it has been shown that green tea polyphenols, when given to a transgenic mouse model that mimics progressive forms of human prostate cancer, exert remarkable preventive effects against prostate cancer development. Chemoprevention of prostate cancer by green tea polyphenols appears to occur through the modulation of various molecular targets. This article attempts to address the issue of the possible use of tea, especially green tea, for the chemoprevention of prostate cancer.

Green tea linked to reduced breast cancer risk
Compounds in green tea may help protect women against breast cancer. Rats who drank water containing green tea had reductions in the size and malignancy of breast tumors compared with rats that drank only water. Additionally, the tumors of tea-drinking rats developed later and were less invasive. While more research needs to be conducted, the findings, coupled with observations of lower rates of breast cancer in countries where green tea is consumed daily, suggest that green tea may benefit women as part of an overall healthy diet.
   According to the report in the July issue of the Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, polyphenols, compounds that are abundant in green tea, red wine and olive oil, may protect against various types of cancer. Polyphenols are potent antioxidants, compounds that help neutralize disease-causing free radicals. These cell-damaging molecules occur naturally in the body and are linked with heart disease, aging and a number of other disorders.
   Dry green tea leaves, which are about 40% polyphenols by weight, may also reduce the risk of cancer of the stomach, lung, colon, rectum, liver and pancreas, study findings have suggested.
   Breast cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death among US women, according to the American Cancer Society.

Green tea extract supplement questions
Q. I read an article about green tea extract. The article made several claims regarding the benefits of green tea and green tea extract. Can you confirm or deny these claims. The article claims green tea cuts the risk for cancer due to the polyphenol antioxidants. It claims green tea reduces blood pressure by keeping blood vessels dilated. It says green tea helps memory and reduces the risk for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. And, green tea speeds up the body's calorie-burning process and helps you lose weight.
   A. Laboratory studies have shown green tea has anti cancer potential, whether long term human studies will confirm this finding has yet to be determined. Green tea may have a slight benefit for blood pressure unless perhaps used in high amounts. Compounds in green tea may protect brain cells but it is too early to tell if drinking green tea or taking green tea extract supplements prevent or treat Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease. Green tea extract may have slight thermogenic activity and may have some appetite suppressing activity that could lead to a slight weight loss.

Q. Could you please tell me if Lipton Naturally Decaffeinated Green Tea has the same good properties as regular green tea? Can a person use the green tea bag more than once and still get the same results? Is drinking 8 cups of green tea a day too much?
   A. We have no way of knowing the green tea quality of Lipton tea products since we are not in a position to test each of their teas. Yes, one can still get residual substances from the tea bag the second time hot water is added to the cup. We suggest limiting green tea use to 2 or 3 cups a day and substituting other herbal teas since different herbs have different benefits. Oranges are healthy, but one would not eat 8 a day, but rather mix a number of fruits in their diet.

Q. A recent German study suggests that milk added to green tea nullifies the benefits of green tea. Is there any implication as to how long before or after drinking green tea one should avoid milk products entirely. For example, should one avoid yogurt 30 minutes before or after having green tea?
   A. Yes, we read the same study regarding the benefit of green tea to be reduced if milk is added. It's hard to say how far to distance dairy and green tea drinking, but perhaps the green tea would be absorbed within 10 to 15 minutes so waiting a few minutes after drinking green tea would be one option.

Q. i have just bought a Source Naturals green tea product, what it mean by yielding 35mg egcg? i thought this green tea is egcg by itself?
   A. EGCG is extracted from green tea, but it is difficult to do a complete extraction and much easier to concentrate the EGCG from green tea but still have other beneficial green tea substances within the product. Therefore, 100 mg of Souce Naturals green tea extract has 35 mg of EGCG, plus other beneficial polyphenols that are related to EGCG.

Q. Does Your Green Tea Extract contain any Caffeine?
   A. titself has a small amount of caffeine and also other substances that have a mild stimulant effect similar to caffeine.

Q. Is decaffeinated green tea extract as effective as that with caffeine in it--given that all the other elements are the same and in the same amounts?
   A. We have no reason to believe that caffeine removed from green tea would make the green tea less beneficial. However, this simple answer needs to be taken in the context that there are dozens of green tea manufacturers and each one of them may have a different method of decaffeination which could make the final product different for each company.  One option is to sometimes drink green tea as is, and other times use the decaffeinated product.

Q. Do you know of any experience of using green tee extract for essential tremor?
   A. We are not familiar with the used of green tea for essential tremor.

Q. My husband is seeing a Hematology oncologist and has been diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. This physician is very leery of supplements but was familiar with the green tea supplement (EGCG) study at Mayo clinic. I asked him if it would be worthwhile for my husband to take green tea supplement and he cautioned me that it is not regulated and may not be pure. He told me to contact Dr. Shanafelt at Mayo clinic and ask what extract they used in the trial. Do you know what purified green tea supplement EGCG extract Dr. Shanafelt is using in the NIH sponsored trial. How can I judge if other green tea extracts are pure?
   A. We are not familiar with the exact green tea supplement used by Dr. Shanafelt at Mayo Clinic. Green tea supplements come in a variety of forms. Since green tea is an inexpensive product, we have no reason to believe that the supplements on the market are not good products.

There's been a lot of news focus on EGCG, the extract from green tea. I see supplements of EGCG being sold in high dosages. Are there safety concerns?
   Many tea drinkers are switching from regular tea to green tea and other herbal teas. We don't see the need to take a high dose of EGCG supplement unless perhaps under medically supervised treatment for a health condition. The full safety and adverse effect profile of EGCG supplements is not fully understood.