Over 5000 years ago, in China, people noticed that they could drink the brew prepared from the green leaves of the tea plant. They also started to realize, that they longer they drank the tea, the more they were able to maintain good health. The drinking of green tea spread widely all over the world as its popularity spread. This led to research by scientists to try and trace the ingredients of the green leaf that gave it, its health giving properties.
Every natural herb has some particular ingredient that gives its ingestion the beneficial properties. Researchers were able to decide this from their study of green tea leaves. They were further able to isolate these and produce green leaf extracts that showed a higher potency and benefits when taken. This means the earlier habit of drinking green tea for its benefits, can be replaced for the same and better effects if the extract is taken. Polyphenols are the most potent ingredient of green leaf and this in the form of catechins. EGCG is a particular constituent of green leaf tea extract that makes green tea a very powerful antioxidant.
These antioxidants can stop cancer before they take root in tumours or other cells that have got mutated. They also help to reduce inflammation and make their presence necessary for cardiovascular systems that are in good health. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals in the body. Free radicals are cells having unpaired electrons that form very quick chain reactions and destabilize other molecules. This is not good for the health and can cause rapid unwanted cell formation. The antioxidants in green tea leaf extracts neutralize these free radicals and prevent them from reacting or destabilizing. They also help to reduce headaches, lower cholesterol and improve digestion. The extract increases the body's capacity to hold antioxidants, so necessary to fight free radicals.
Green leaf tea uses all the parts of the leaf and many of these have no particular benefits. A green tea leaf extract on the other hand, concentrates in it, only those parts of the leaf that can promote good health. Green tea extract is made by steeping the leaves in their green condition in alcohol. This dissolves the ingredients and once the solvent evaporates, it leaves behind the extract. These strong infusions are further concentrated so that the content of the catechins is increased to 20 percent instead of the two percent in the strong infusion. This is then sprayed and hydrated to extract the powder. The evaporated water content continues to have the beneficial catechins, and are further used to add to other medicinal products. Membrane extraction and column chromatography techniques are also used to produce green tea leaf extracts.
Green tea extract has been proved to improve metabolism and thus assist in weight loss. There is caffeine present in green tea leaf extract, but this is unlike normal caffeine. Normal caffeine increases the metabolism and the heart rate. The caffeine in the extract however has no effect on heart rate, and this makes it much safer to use as a supplement for weight loss using herbal products. It is also possible to obtain these extracts that have been decaffeinated form, if this is still found necessary. This extract is also known to fight dental plaque, while stimulating the immune system. The EGCG has a potency that is 200 times that of Vitamin E. Besides cancer, it can also help to reduce liver damage. There are other biochemical properties that green leaf tea extracts have. Besides being antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic, they are also anti-inflammatory and can fight radiation. The antioxidant properties that these extracts offer are stronger than that offered by supplements of vitamin C and vitamin E.
A standard green tea extract contains poly-phenols up to ninety percent, while taking one pill will be equivalent to drinking five cups of green tea. Most of these supplements are available over the counter and those containing a lower amount of poly-phenols will be lower priced. It is generally recommended that such extracts should be taken between meals, as this can otherwise have effects on iron absorption. These extracts are also used as preservatives for meat products. They can also help to prevent juices from getting microbial contamination.
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