In a new study, researchers found that drinking matcha tea may help reduce anxiety.
The research was conducted by a group of Japanese researchers from Kumamoto University.
Many different countries have a tea culture, and Japanese Matcha tea is growing in popularity around the world.
Matcha is the finely ground powder of new leaves from shade-grown (90% shade) Camellia sinensis green tea bushes.
In Japan, Matcha has a long history of being used for various medicinal purposes, including helping people relax, preventing obesity, and treatment of skin conditions.
However, there is still little scientific evidence to confirm the health benefits.
In the new study, the team found that consuming Matcha powder or Matcha extract could reduce anxious behavior in mice.
They used an anxiety test for rodents and found that mouse anxiety was reduced after consuming Matcha powder or Matcha extract.
In addition, a poorly water-soluble Matcha component has stronger anxiolytic effects than a component that is easily soluble in water.
Further analysis showed that the health benefits appear to be due to mechanisms that activate dopamine D1 receptors and serotonin 5-HT1A receptors, both of which are closely related to anxious behavior.
The team suggests that Matcha, which has been used as a medicinal agent for many years, may be beneficial to people to reduce anxiety.
This will need to be directly tested in future work.
They hope that the research into Matcha can lead to health benefits worldwide.
The lead author of the study is Dr. Yuki Kurauchi.
The study is published in Journal of Functional Foods.
Copyright © 2019 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
