Derived from leaves of evergreen herb Camellia sinensis, green tea is known for its significant human health benefits. Once primarily consumed in Asia and North Africa, green tea is becoming increasingly available around the world with an increase in its average annual growth. There has been a tremendous change in the consumption pattern of green tea, a prime drive of which is the increasing knowledge about and marketing of its health benefits. The most notable health benefit of green tea is its powerful antioxidant potential, which helps prevent cellular damage from certain oxidation reactions in the body at the molecular level. Green tea is attributed to health claims which include the prevention of skin cancer, lower blood pressure, the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative and kidney disorders, diabetes, respiratory distress, the inhibition of clinical and opportunistic microbial infections, and many more. The rich presence of polyphenols in green tea is likely responsible for its multiple health benefits. in vitro and in vivo epidemiological evidence suggests the importance of green tea polyphenols in exerting antioxidant activities which confer medicinal and food value. Major polyphenols found in green tea include the catechins, such as epigallocatechin gallate, epigallocatechin, epicatechin 3- gallate, epicatechin, and catechin gallate. These catechins have shown promise in the promotion of cardiovascular health, the prevention of cancer, skin protection, the reduction of high cholesterol levels, diabetes, impaired immune function, diarrhoea, fatigue and infection. There is a highly significant relationship between phenolics, flavonoids and the antioxidant activity of green tea, while the amount of phenolic, flavonoids and antioxidants are the parameters depicting the quality of tea according to their biological properties. This book is an informative forum highlighting research on the antioxidant activity of green tea pertaining to its health benefits. The book is organised into seven chapters that provide a comprehensive review of the antioxidant activity of green tea and its associated health benefits. The book outlines useful information and improves the fundamental knowledge regarding the processing of green tea, its chemical components, their role as antioxidants and usefulness as nutraceuticals.

The use of antioxidants in sports is controversial due to existing evidence that they both support and hinder athletic performance. Antioxidants in Sport Nutrition covers antioxidant use in the athlete ́s basic nutrition and discusses the controversies surrounding the usefulness of antioxidant supplementation. The book also stresses how antioxidants may affect immunity, health, and exercise performance. The book contains scientifically based chapters explaining the basic mechanisms of exercise-induced oxidative damage. Also covered are methodological approaches to assess the effectiveness of antioxidant treatment. Biomarkers are discussed as a method to estimate the bioefficacy of dietary/supplemental antioxidants in sports. This book is useful for sport nutrition scientists, physicians, exercise physiologists, product developers, sport practitioners, coaches, top athletes, and recreational athletes. In it, they will find objective information and practical guidance.

The global popularity of herbal supplements and the promise they hold in treating various disease states has caused an unprecedented interest in understanding the molecular basis of the biological activity of traditional remedies. Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects focuses on presenting current scientific evidence of biomolecular ef

Green tea is a popular healthful beverage in many parts of the world and its medical properties have been extensively explored. Green tea originated in China and the chemistry of green tea is renowned by its presence of polyphenolic compounds, particularly catechins. This book reviews the antioxidant activities of green tea catechins, its consumption and the ways it prevents potential infections; the potential beneficial effects of green tea consumption on Diabetes mellitus and how it can be used to reduce severe brain damage as well as its use in treating obesity. Other chapters examine how catechins may assist in the suppression of heart transplant rejection; a discussion on EGCG as the most abundant catechin green tea and its capability of inhibiting cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis in cancer cells; an evaluation and comparison of the phenolic composition and metal content of commercially available aromatized green tea infusions; and an investigation of the chromatographic behavior of catechins.

A lively and beautifully illustrated history of one of the world's favorite beverages and its uses through the ages. World-renowned sinologist Victor H. Mair teams up with journalist Erling Hoh to tell the story of this remarkable beverage and its uses, from ancient times to the present, from East to West. For the first time in a popular history of tea, the Chinese, Japanese, Tibetan, and Mongolian annals have been thoroughly consulted and carefully sifted. The resulting narrative takes the reader from the jungles of Southeast Asia to the splendor of the Tang and Song Dynasties, from the tea ceremony politics of medieval Japan to the fabled tea and horse trade of Central Asia and the arrival of the first European vessels in Far Eastern waters. Through the centuries, tea has inspired artists, enhanced religious experience, played a pivotal role in the emergence of world trade, and triggered cataclysmic events that altered the course of humankind. How did green tea become the national beverage of Morocco? And who was the beautiful Emma Hart, immortalized by George Romney in his painting The Tea-maker of Edgware Road? No other drink has touched the daily lives of so many people in so many different ways. The True History of Tea brings these disparate aspects together in an entertaining tale that combines solid scholarship with an eye for the quirky, offbeat paths that tea has strayed upon during its long voyage. It celebrates the common heritage of a beverage we have all come to love, and plays a crucial part in the work of dismantling that obsolete dictum: East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.

The past decade has seen considerable interest and progress in unraveling the beneficial health effects of tea, particularly its polyphenolic components and its antioxidant activity. Understanding the science behind the claims will help in the production and marketing of teas and tea products. Pulling together recent research and presenting it in an organized format, Tea and Tea Products discusses the manufacturing and chemistry of various teas including green, black, Pu-erh, white, and GABA teas. Emphasizing black and green teas equally, the book presents comprehensive and up-to-date reviews and perspectives on the chemistry of tea components and the molecular biology of green tea catechins and black tea theaflavins. It covers the analysis, formation mechanisms, and bioavailability of tea polyphenols and discusses bioactivities of teas including anticancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity, and anti diabetes. Increased awareness of the many health benefits of tea has fueled an increase in the market for ready to drink teas and tea products in general that will continue to grow. This expanding market requires a resource that provides the evidence. The editors of this volume have more than 100 research publications in tea, and experience in editing more than 50 books between them. Under their expertise and editorial guidance, the contributors present chapters that explore the science behind the health claims of teas.

Including more than one dozen recipes for drinks and desserts, a guide to the healing properties of green tea describes how it acts as a stronger antioxidant than certain vitamins, inhibits blood clots better than aspirin, and more. Original.