Tea leaves are from plants species known as Camellia Sinensis but it is classified into three main varieties which are : GREEN TEA, Oolong tea and Black tea due to the differences in their processing methods. Green tea is made from unfermented leaves, Oolong tea from partially fermented leaves whereas black tea is made from fully fermented leaves. Being the least processed leaves, Green tea is found to contain the highest concentration of POWERFUL ANTIOXIDANTS. There's no others food or drinks can even come close to compete~
For this reason, you know, I'm now head over heels in love with MR. GREEN TEA!
Lets get down to business now
Here, we'll share some facts and figures about What make green tea a Miracle~
Green tea contains complex ingredients for about 200 bioactive compounds o_0
However, we'll only focus on the main ingredients. Green tea has been found to contain a large amount of phytochemical constituents known as polyphenols which exists in high abundance in all green teas.and believed to have health-promoting effects. Polyphenols can also be defined as any of various alcohols containing two or more benzene rings that each have at least one hydroxyl group (OH) attached . Flavonoids, a class of plants secondary metablites an example of polyphenols which are anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory and it's most important role, for me, it's an ANTIOXIDANT.
Flavone Backbone :
Molecular structure = 2-phenyl-1,4-benzopyrone
CATECHINS ?
Right, the secrete of green tea for being the KING of tea.
Catechins, also known as flavan-3-ols more specifically, is a simple form of flavonoids. It's pytochemical compounds that exist predominantly in green tea which made up the bulk of green tea antioxidants as well as most healing properties of green tea. Green tea contains about 30% of catechins and might appear in smaller portion in grapes, wine, chocololate and black tea. As the process of manufacturing preclude oxidation, Green Tea is "on the top of the world" for its flavonoids content!
By comparison in research,
Just 1 GRAM of green tea leaves contains 127 milligrams of catechins while the one comes next on the list, dark chocolate only contain 54 milligrams of catechins in 100 GRAMS.
Do you know : A cup of green tea with about 200 milligrams of catechins is equivalent to 8 Apples!
O.0_Now, The STAR of the show...
EGCG, Epigallocatechin gallate, or Epigallocatechin 3-gallate, one of the major components in green tea, is the ester of epigallocatechin and gallic acid. It contains 3 phenol rings with an phenolic hydroxyl group more than that of epicatechin. It is the most abundant catechins in green tea which is about half of the whole amount of catechins in green tea. In addition, EGCG is also the best researched and most active catechines that caught the eyes of scientific world among all the four.
Epigallocatechin 3-gallate
Molecular formula : C22H18O11
What are its SUPER POWER?
Being the most potent antioxidant, EGCG is proven to be 100 times more powerful than vitamin C and 25 times more effective than vitamin E in its antioxidant power, that is to protects cells and DNA for not damaged by free radicals. Free radicals are Unstable molecules missing an elctron. They're formed from the by products of metabolic processes, our food, breathing air and mostly, the Ultraviolet radiation from our lovely sun which contribute to 90% of signs of premature aging process. When oxygen intake is being processed into enegy, we're in fact carrying out process called Oxidation which can helps in releasing free radicals. However, as we grow older, the process turns to be less efficient which will eventually contribute to kinds of degenerative diseases and aging processes. Now can you imagine how extremely important it is to have anxioxidants to neutralising the free radical and thus slow down aging processes as well as healing our cell deeply in level.
Furthermore, EGCG found to have cardioprotective effects. It is an important heart health agent to prevent hardening and thickening of artery by arherosclerotic plaque formation due to accumulation of cholesterols, fats and blood clots which can eventually contribute to heart attack and strokes. EGCG can inhibit these as it combats lipid peroxidation in the arterial walls, lowering LDL cholesterols and triglycerides Coronary diseases can be prevented with a clear passage way in the endothelial lining in arteries, this would automatically reduce high blood pressure. Drinnking 4 or 5 cups of green tea daily we would have 26% to 46% lower risk to get heart diseases and 65% safer from developing hidh blood pressure. EGCG has shown to minimize brain cells' damage from stroke and also to speed up recovery of heart cells.
Resveratrol, a polyphenol in red wine that believed to reduce negative effect of consuming fatty diets and smoking, this is the secret for lower incidence of heart diseases in French than in America. Guess what? Researchers found that EGCG is twice potent than resveratrol! Despite about 75% of Japanese are smokers, the rates for heart diseases among them is absolutely low.
Whats more, EGCG is also chemiprotective with its cancer prevention properties that have been widely studied and reported. They found that EGCG can protect us against various kinds of cancers in ways. It can reduces cellular damage which can lead to cancers, supresses growth of tumors by blocking the development of new blood vessels to suply nutrients for cancerous cell as well as inhibiting the overproduction of enzymes that could be catalysts to cancer growth such as cyclooxygenase, COX-2 and dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) and junk-2. EGCG has anti-inflammatory propeties to inhibit growth of skin tumors.EGCG is unique for its ability to combat cancer cells for being a free radical in cancer cells causing them to self destruct in all stages WITHOUT harming surrounding cells like other drugs which can lead to terrible side effects!
Apart from those, being an antimicrobial agent, EGCG is able to inhibits the growth of bacteria such as helicobacter pylori, E. coli, and also viruses in our mouths. Thus, it can help to ward off tooth decay and gum diseases to keep the dentists away and cure bad breath so that friends around us will not suffer :) EGCG can also rejuvenate skin cells by stimulating aged keratinocytes to synthesise DNA for cell renewing.