1. Camellia sinensis Camellia assamica
Green Tea
Camellia sinensis
Camellia assamica

2. Origins Southeast Asia 2737 B.C. First written record
Emperor Shen Nong
Homo erectus

3. Historic Uses Used historically in China for many different ailments
Used as a currency
500 A.D. Demand rises, and farmers begin to cultivate tea

4. Tea Moves West
1606 First shipment of tea to Europe, by the Dutch East India Company
1657 Tea reaches general population of Europe
Robert Fortune
By 1850s England was consuming over 80 million pounds of tea annually
Kenya, Cameroon, South Africa, India, Sri Lanka

5. Growing Camellia sinensis
Shrublike and Grown in a Semi Tropical Environment on Plantations in Southeast Asia
Heavy rainfall, ft. elevation
Cloning or Grown from Seed
Cuttings obtained from mother bush
Rooted and grown in nursery for 1 or 2 years
Grown in Rows or on Terraces
4 feet apart and 4-5 feet tall
Help irrigation and prevent soil erosion

6. How Green Tea is Made Leaves are usually picked by hand
Leaves are steamed, rolled, and dried immediately and completely
Not fermented like black teas
Packed in foil-lined chests
Prevent absorption of unpleasant odors
Prevent loss of aroma
Serve warm, but not hot, to keep medicinal value intact

7. Active Compounds
The active compounds in green tea are from a group of polyphenols called catechins
Four catechins present in green tea:
Epicatechingallate
Epicatechin
epigallocatechin
Epigallocatechingallate

8. Active Compounds

9. Mode of Action Antioxidant
With HIV the epigallocatechingallate acts as a block to the HIV transport protein on the host cell
In cases of Dementia the epigallocatechingallate stops the formation of plaque and tangles by inducing the PKC pathway which increases the levels of α-secretase an enzyme the inhibits Aβ proteins a precursor to neurofibular tangles associated with Alzheimer's

10. Mode of Action
Cancer
Epigallocatechingallate has been shown to inhibit angiogenesis of tumor cell and thus not allowing them to become cancerous. This is achieved by stopping the production of angiogenic compounds in the tumor cells.
It has also been suggested that green tea may induce apoptosis in cancer cells by shutting down the NF-KB pathway.

11. Mode of Action Weight loss
Epigallocatechingallate prevents the breakdown of norepinephrine thus causing a raise in metabolism. It may also Inhibit adipocyte hypertrophy and hyperplasia, and possibly inhibit gastrointestinal enzymes involved in nutrient uptake, the mechanisms have yet to be deciphered for these processes.

12. Green Tea use in Cancer Prevention
Green Tea stops angiogenesis
Stops blood flow to tumor
Mice given green tea
EGCG slowed angiogenesis
Green Tea induced apoptosis
Increases normal cell growth while promoting programmed cell death
Mice given green tea over a 4 month period
tumors suppressed

13. Treating Alzheimer’s Green Tea is antioxidant
Mice (in vivo) had Aβ peptides formation slowed
EGCG activated the protein kinase C pathway , which stops Alzheimer’s

14. Weight Loss Healthy Human Males
3 Groups: EGCG+caffeine, caffeine only, and placebo
EGCG group burned more fat than any other group
Human Study
3 Month Period of people drinking Green Tea
Catechins causes more weight loss by causing the subjects to increase energy

15. Current Studies: Body Fat and LDL reduction
Two groups of men with similar BMI and waist circumference underwent 12 wk study. One group ingested a bottle of tea containing 690mg catechins, the second group received only 22 mg catechins.
Average weight loss in group 1 was 2.4 kg. In the second group it was only 1.3 kg.
LDL levels of group 1 decreased by about 11.5%; in group 2, only by about 5.2%.

16. Current Studies: Alcohol and Hepatic Toxicity
3 groups of rats were administered ethanol. Two of the groups were also treated with theanine, one prior to ethanol, one after.
Both theanine treated groups showed decreased blood alcohol concentration.
LPO levels in the livers of the ethanol alone rats nearly doubled after 3 hours. The LPO levels of the theanine treated rats remained basically normal throughout the experiment.