Researchers at the Institute of Food Engineering, Shanghai Normal University, China, believe green tea is an excellent potential ingredient for skin care products.
The study, which was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2009, Volume 57, Number 17) reports that Camellia sinesis performed well during tests for moisture absorption and antioxidant qualities and should therefore be considered a viable ingredient for skin care applications. The antioxidant qualities of green tea are well known, but the cosmetic possibilities of the plant are only recently being explored. The polyphenols within green tea are believed to be key to its health effects with benefits being claimed in areas such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, bone density, cognitive function, dental cavities and kidney stones. However, the Shanghai team also studied the effects of tea polysaccharides on skin and found that moisture absorption and retention qualities were more profound with increased levels of polysaccharides than polyphenols. The results of these findings are believed to be connected to the presence of hydroxyl and carboxyl within the polysaccharides that form hydrogen bonds with the water molecules. These moisture-retaining qualities of the polysaccharides go hand in hand with the antioxidant properties of the tea polyphenols, making the plant a very useful substance in skin care. To add to this, green tea polyphenols were also shown to absorb UVA and UVB rays, a test in which polysaccharides performed less well. The researchers said: “The results indicated that tea polysaccharides and polyphenols had complementary advantages and they should be appropriately combined to achieve higher performance when applied as active components of cosmetics.”
