Study: Green Tea May Defend Against Liver Damage

According to a new study published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology, the consumption of green tea may help protect the liver from hepatic fibrosis, one of the leading causes of cirrhosis.

The research team, led by professor Hong-Yon Cho from Korea University, induced lab rats with hepatic fibrosis, administrated green tea and then took tissue samples.

Researchers found that green tea helped reduce the deposition of collagen fibers, which lead to scarring in the liver, thereby ameliorating the condition.

The authors of the study concluded that "green tea provides a safe and effective strategy for improving hepatic fibrosis."

Meanwhile, in a recent study in the Cancer Prevention Research Journal, scientists found that green tea may assist in the prevention of oral cancer, according to NaturalNews.com.

In the study, a total of 41 oral leukoplakia patients at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center were split into two groups. One was given green tea extract and one was given a placebo.

Although there was no difference in oral cancer development between the two groups, it took much longer for the disease to develop in the patients who took the green tea extract.

"While still very early and not definitive proof that green tea is an effective preventive agent, these results certainly encourage more study for patients at [the] highest risk for oral cancer," said Vassiliki Papadimitrakopoulou, senior author of the study, quoted the news source.