Promise of tea in skin health

RESEARCHERS from Kingston University (UK) teamed up with Neal's Yard Remedies, a manufacturer of natural and organic skin and body care products, to test the health properties of 21 plant and herb extracts. They discovered all of the plants tested had some potential benefits, but were intrigued to find white tea considerably outperformed all of them.

Professor Declan Naughton, from the School of Life Sciences at Kingston University in South West London, said the research showed white tea had anti-ageing potential and high levels of anti-oxidants that could prevent cancer and heart disease.

"We've carried out tests to identify plant extracts that protected the structural proteins of the skin, specifically elastin and collagen," he explained.

Results showed white tea prevented the activities of the enzymes which breakdown elastin and collagen, which can lead to wrinkles that accompany ageing. These enzymes, along with oxidants, are associated with inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

"These enzymes and oxidants are key components of normal body processes. However, in inflammatory conditions, suppressing the activities of these excess components has been the subject of decades of research. We were surprised to find such high activity for the white tea extracts in all five tests that were conducted," Professor Naughton said.

The researchers were blown away by exactly how well the white tea had performed.

"We were testing very small amounts far less than you would find in a drink," Professor Naughton, one of the UK's leading specialists on inflammation, said. "The early indicators are that white tea reduces the risk of inflammation which is characteristic of rheumatoid arthritis and some cancers as well as wrinkles.

"Eight of the other plants and herbs analysed also helped protect against the breakdown of both elastin and collagen. After white tea, bladderwrack (Fucus vesiculosus, a brown algae) performed well followed by extracts of cleavers (Galium aparine), rose, green tea, angelica, anise and pomegranate.

Dr Pauline Hili, technical director for Neal's Yard Remedies, said the helps the company to remain innovative and at the cutting edge of natural skin care. "The Kingston University research program helps us to create safe, highly effective and cutting-edge products so it's an ideal partnership for us," she said.

Green tea and inflammatory skin diseases

Green tea could hold promise as a new treatment for skin disorders such as psoriasis and dandruff, research by Medical College of Georgia (USA) scientists have shown.Researchers studied an animal model for inflammatory skin diseases, which are often characterised by patches of dry, red, flaky skin caused by the inflammation and overproduction of skin cells. Those treated with green tea showed slower growth of skin cells and the presence of a gene that regulates the cells' life cycles.

"Psoriasis, an autoimmune disease, causes the skin to become thicker because the growth of skin cells is out of control," commented Dr Stephen Hsu, an oral biologist in the MCG School of Dentistry and lead investigator, on the study. "In psoriasis, immune cells, which usually protect against infection, instead trigger the release of cytokines, which causes inflammation and the overproduction of skin cells."

Other autoimmune diseases with similar side effects include lupus, which can lead to skin lesions, and dandruff.Green tea, already shown to suppress inflammation, helps by regulating the expression of Caspase-14, a protein in genes that regulates the life cycle of a skin cell.

"That marker guides cells by telling them when to differentiate, die off and form a skin barrier," Dr Hsu said. "In people with psoriasis, that process is interrupted and the skin cells don't die before more are created and the resulting lesions form."  Animal models treated with green tea alnike sb