Soon, green tea is going to be a panacea for all diseases, I think. Because of its epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) content, green tea has been demonstrated to have potentials in preventing or treating autoimmune diseases, HIV infection, cancer, and others.
A new study also suggests that EGCG may also provide therapeutic benefits to people with rheumatoid arthritis.
The researchers looked at whether the green tea compound has the capability to block the activity of two potent molecules, IL-6 and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), which also are actively involved in causing bone erosion in the joints of people with rheumatoid arthritis.
[In untreated cells], a sequence …read more

Results from an animal trial suggest that green tea may help prevent autoimmune diseases such as Sjogren’s Syndrome, a chronic disease in which white blood cells attack the moisture-producing glands that produce tears and saliva.
Researchers studied the salivary glands of the water-consuming group and a green tea extract-consuming group to look for inflammation and the number of lymphocytes, a type of white blood cells that gather at sites of inflammation to fend off foreign cells.
The group treated with green tea had significantly fewer lymphocytes, Dr. Hsu says. Their blood also showed lower levels of autoantibodies, …read more

A flavonoid compound found in green tea, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), may have potentials into beign developed as an HIV drug. The authors said that “physiological levels” of EGCG equivalent to the amount in just a cup or two of green tea inhibited HIV binding by 40 percent.
This was discovered by Japanese scientists in 2003, but by using computers to image the exact shape of the proteins and working out the electronic processes involved, Nance’s team worked out that ECGC sticks to exactly the same amino acid (component) of the CD4 molecule as gp120 — the “docking module” of HIV …read more

My neighbor-blog here at b5media, the Cancer Commentary, reports:
According to a population-based study from China, drinking at least one cup of tea a day cuts the risk of cancer in the gallbladder and bile ducts by about 40 percent.
Don’t ask me how; they‘re not sure either. They believe its due to the anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory properties of polyphenols found in tea called epigallocatechin gallate.
I hope I’m one of those with a very low risk of contracting this type of cancer. Or that there is some other food item, some other option, with the same medicinal benefit.
I can’t stand the taste …read more