A green tea study concerning green tea and UVA-induced skin damage in mice.
From the study:
“In another study presented at the same meeting, dermatology researchers presented evidence that green tea protects against UVA-induced skin damage in mice.
PUVA photochemotherapy is widely used in the treatment of various skin diseases. However, epidemiologic studies have indicated that PUVA enhances the risk of squamous cell carcinoma and perhaps melanoma. Dr. David R. Bickers, the Carl Truman Nelson Professor and Chairman of Dermatology, and colleagues conducted a study to determine whether extracts of green tea protect against PUVA-induced skin photodamage in mice.
In the experiment, a green tea polyphenol fraction was topically applied to mice 10 minutes before PUVA photochemotherapy (which consists of 8-methoxypsoralen plus UVA irradiation). Typically, this therapy causes skin photodamage in mice, including redness and swelling after two to three days and hyperplasia and hyperkeratosis (skin thickening and lesions) after one to two weeks. However, the application of the green tea polyphenol fraction resulted in a statistically significant 78.1 percent inhibition of the PUVA-induced net increase in skin thickness. The treatment also resulted in a 98.6 percent inhibition of the PUVA-induced net increase in lesion severity. Applying the green tea polyphenol fraction five minutes after PUVA also significantly protected against skin photodamage. Administration of a 0.6 percent extract of green tea in the drinking water seven days before PUVA treatment protected against skin photodamage in the mice.”
Read the study here.
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