Posted on 10/27/2004 11:20:19 PM PDT by CarrotAndStick
Drinking tea regularly could help improve memory, a research by British scientists from the University of Newcastle suggests.
The scientists found that green and black tea inhibit the activity of certain enzymes in the brain that are associated with memory.
The findings, published in the journal Phytotherapy Research, may lead to the development of a treatment for Alzheimer's disease, which affects an estimated ten million people worldwide.
The team investigated the properties of coffee and green and black tea.
Black tea -- traditional English breakfast tea -- is derived from the same plant as green tea, 'Camellia sinensis', but has a different taste and appearance as it is fermented.
They found that both green and black tea inhibited the activity of enzymes associated with the development of Alzheimer's disease, but coffee had no significant effect.
Both teas inhibited the activity of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE), which breaks down the chemical messenger or neurotransmitter, acetylcholine.
Alzheimer's is characterised by a drop in acetylcholine.
Green tea and black tea also hinder the activity of the enzyme butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE), which has been discovered in protein deposits found on the brains of patients with Alzheimer's.
Green tea went one step further by obstructing the activity of beta-secretase, which plays a role in the production of protein deposits in the brains that are associated with Alzheimer's.
Scientists also found that it continued to have its inhibitive effect for a week, whereas black tea's enzyme-inhibiting properties lasted for only a day.
Drugs currently in the market hinder the activity of AChE, but they have unpleasant side effects.
The researchers are seeking funding to carry out further tests on green tea, which they hope will include clinical trials.
Their aim is to work towards the development of a medicinal tea aimed at Alzheimer's sufferers.
Darjeeling Tea
Drink Rum...it helps ya forgit!
Me, too. And while I'm at it, who are you people, and what are you doing in my living room ?
Would it help me remember where I set my cup of coffee?
I hope I forget to watch.
I seem to recall seeing this somewhere before....
Darjeeling is absolutely my most favorite tea....
Thanks for the great picts !
No, my coffe cup has a picture of a dog on it.
Oolong Tea (aka White Tea) is also good, it has a higher polyphenol content than Green tea.
www.beyond-a-century.com sells all kinds of bulk vitamin/herbal powders, super cheap! I highly recommend them. You can buy gelatin capsules and cap your own.
They sell a few Green Tea products, one 50% EGCG, for easy mixing in hot water (1 cup of it is equal to drinking 4 cups of plain Green tea). They also have a 98% EGCG product, but you have to cap it (it's not drinkable).
There's nothing like a nice cup of Green tea, it has an amino acid named L-Theanine which promotes relaxation (even though Green Tea also has caffiene).
They've even isolated L-theanine and sell it as a seperate supplement. It is popular in Japan, apparently they have gum and soft drinks spiked with L-theanine.
Is this the tea you mentioned?
Yes, that is Green Tea. But not the same as the stuff as from the website I mentioned.
Tetley Tea - now you're talking. Local grocery stores occasionally sell Tetley's round bag version but it's more expensive than other black tea. The rectangular shaped bags of Tetley black tea have a better taste yet are very hard to find.
I only drink Lipton sweet ice tea. I wish it were sun brewed.
No, Oolong is not white tea. Oolong is halfway between green tea and black tea. White tea is even less processed than green tea.
I don't know about this.......it didn't help James Wilson when he was sipping tea during his breaks from hunting missing yellowcake in Niger.
Now that I've had another sip, I seem to recall it was Ambassador Joe Wilson, not "James."
India and Sri Lanka produce fine tea.
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