Green tea antioxidant health benefit

The antioxidant polyphenols in green tea are classified as catechins and the major and most active is called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). When fermented, green tea becomes black tea and has less antioxidants as well as somewhat different antioxidants. Beneficial antioxidant polyphenols make up roughly 30-40% of green tea, as opposed to only 3-10% of black tea.

Antioxidants in green tea
There are many substances in green tea extract that have antioxidant benefits. Some of these include epigallocatechin (EGC), epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epicatechin (EC), epicatechin gallate (ECG), epigallocatechin 3-O-(3-O-methyl) gallate (EGCG3''Me), 3-O-methyl epicatechin gallate (ECG3'Me), catechin, gallocatechin, gallocatechin gallate (GCG), and catechin gallate.

Green Tea Extract, 100 mg, yielding 35 mg EGCG - Source Naturals
Diet Rx  FREE bottle formulated by Dr. Ray Sahelian, M.D.
Green Tea Extract offers a convenient way to get the benefits of green tea in a highly concentrated green tea pill form.  This green tea extract is standardized for bioflavonoid-like antioxidants known as polyphenols, particularly Epigallocatechin Gallate EGCG. EGCG has been found in scientific studies to be a potent antioxidant. Green tea antioxidants are likely to become more popular with time.

Green Tea Supplement Facts
Green Tea Extract Yielding 35 mg epigallocatechin gallate EGCG

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Green tea antioxidants improved with vitamin C
Adding citrus juices or vitamin C to green tea raises its antioxidant goodness. Catechins are antioxidants that are partly responsible for some of green tea's health benefits, such as reducing the risk of cancer, heart attack and stroke. In a laboratory study, citrus juice increased recoverable (absorbable) catechin levels by more than five times, while vitamin C (ascorbic acid) boosted recoverable levels of the two most abundant catechins by six and 13 times. Citrus juices and vitamin C interact with catechins to prevent degradation in the intestines.

Green Tea Vitamin
Green tea contains few vitamins but has several beneficial substances including minerals and polyphenols. One study in Portugal evaluated the levels of minerals and catechins in green tea samples. Potassium is the mineral present in larger amount (92 to 151 mg/l). The content of sodium, calcium, fluoride, aluminium, manganese and iron were 35-69, 1.9-3.5, 0.80-2.0, 1.0-2.2, 0.52-1.9, 0.020-0.128 mg/l, respectively. Chromium and selenium were not detected. There were wide variations in catechin content. The levels of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) ranged from 117 to 442 mg/l, epicatechin 3-gallate (EGC) from 203 to 471 mg/l, epigallocatechin (ECG) from 16.9 to 150 mg/l, epicatechin (EC) from 25 to 81 mg/l and catechin (C) from 9.03 to 115 mg/l.

No benefit for skin health
A two-year, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial of oral green tea polyphenols on the long-term clinical and histologic appearance of photoaging skin.
Dermatol Surg. 2009 Jul; Janjua R, Munoz C, Gorell E, Rehmus W, Egbert B, Kern D, Chang AL. Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
Green tea polyphenols have significant antioxidant and antiinflammatory activities, and prior short-term studies suggest that these compounds may improve photoaging skin. Double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 56 women aged 25 to 75 randomized to 250 mg GTPs or placebo twice daily for 2 years. A blinded dermatologist scored the appearance of photodamaged facial skin at 0, 6, 12, and 24 months. A blinded dermatopathologist scored the histologic characteristics of sun-exposed arm skin at 0 and 24 months. There were no statistically significant differences in other photoaging parameters at 6, 12, or 24 months in the Green tea polyphenols or placebo groups. Long-term supplementation with oral Green tea polyphenols was not superior to placebo in improving clinical or histologic photoaging parameters after 24 months of use.