MARK WILLEMS
University of Chichester, Institute of Sport, Chichester, United Kingdom

Abstract

Green tea is associated with health benefits. Some studies showed enhanced exercise-induced fat oxidation with intake of capsulated green tea components, primarily with epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate, but that effect was never observed with drinking brewed green tea from unpowdered leaves. In 2013, Hodgson et al. published a review article on green tea intake and exercise-induced fat oxidation. This review will cover some of the green tea studies since 2013 with only one study on the effects of drinking green tea. A study in 2018 showed that drinking a few cups with normal amounts of powdered green tea leaves (i.e. Matcha) enhanced fat oxidation during brisk walking in females. Capsulated intake of green tea components but also regular drinking of normal amounts of Matcha have the potential to provide benefits for health and exercise.

SHORT REVIEW

Nutraceuticals are phytochemicals in the diet that provide multiple health benefits but have no or negligible nutritional value. The drinking of brewed green tea provides health benefits due to the water-soluble components from the leaves of the green tea shrub. Green tea leaves have a polyphenol composition, consisting primarily of catechins. More specifically, catechins are flavanols, a subcategory of the polyphenol category flavonoids. Green tea leaves contain catechin gallate, epicatechin gallate, epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (i.e. EGCG), epicatechin epigallate, gallocatechin and gallocatechin gallate (1). Of these, the catechin EGCG is essential for the antioxidant capacity of brewed green tea and linked with a reduced risk for some chronic diseases such as diabetes (2), for some cancers (3) and cardiovascular and ischemic-related diseases (4). Another important effect of the nutraceuticals in green tea leaves is its link with body-weight management by enhancing energy expenditure and fat oxidation in rest (5). Therefore, green tea  possesses  potential anti-o ...