*All Green Teas are Not Equal in Anti-Cancer Effect

Results:

The results of a new study comparing the anti-cancer effects of several well-known teas has shown that a newly developed blend of green teas was superior at inhibiting the growth of two breast cancer cell lines, including one highly metastatic cell line. This blend combines four different green teas: Ceylon Green, Bi Lou Chun, Organic Gunpowder and Dragonwell.

Blend of teas selected by Mirko Beljanski

The anti-cancer potential of each of these teas was originally identified by Prof. M. Beljanski of the Pasteur Institute using the Oncotest, an assay he developed for detecting carcinogenic and anti-carcinogenic compounds. The new study confirms the activity of a combination of the four green teas against breast cancer cells. Green teas have long been associated with anti-oxidant and anti-cancer benefits, but the new research shows that the activity of this specific combination stands out. When tested against other teas including Bigelow^®, Kusmi^®, and Lipton^®, the four green tea blend had the most potent anti-cancer effect on the cultured breast cancer cells. Data in the figure below show the viability of the breast cancer cell lines after exposure to extracts of each of the teas tested (400 micrograms/ml). The green tea blend (OnkoTea^®) was the best at reducing the number of breast cancer cells. A combination of four green tea extracts that showed anti-cancer potential in the Oncotest proved to inhibit breast, bladder, liver and skin cancer cell proliferation in the Kansas study. It will be interesting to determine whether the measured IC50s in the cell proliferation assays correlate with the level of polyphenols in the different teas and whether the standout results for OnkoTea can be attributed to its polyphenol content. The results from the Oncotest indicate that the active polyphenols in the green tea extracts, catechins, bind directly to DNA and thereby could exert anti-tumor activity by preventing DNA synthesis in cancer cells. This may well be the mechanism of action for the anti-cancer effects of green teas. There have been several reports of the binding of green tea catechins to DNA. In light of the Oncotest experiment, it will be interesting to determine the chemical affinity of the binding of the tea compounds to normal versus cancer cell DNA. This approach represents a novel and promising avenue for understanding the health benefits of green tea. Click here to view the full publication.Read the full publication
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