Green tea may inhibit colorectal cancer

Washington, Dec 11 (UNI) Taking a cup of green tea lowers the risk of colorectal cancer, a new research shows.

Researchers from the US found a lower risk of colorectal tumors in rodents given a standardised green tea polyphenol preparation, the Science Daily reported.

After 34 weeks, the rodents receiving the green tea extract had 55 per cent fewer tumours than the control group and their tumours were 45 per cent smaller.

''Our findings show that rats fed a diet containing Polyphenon E, a standardised green tea polyphenol preparation, are less than half as likely to develop colon cancer,'' study author Hang Xiao, of Rutgers University said.

Dr Xiao points out these results are consistent with previously published results , which showed that green tea consumption was associated with lower colon cancer rates in Shanghai, China.

In this study, the test animals receiving the green tea extract also weighed about five per cent less than their control group counterparts, a result Dr Xiao attributes to the ability of the green tea polyphenols to block lipid absorption in the body.

UNI