The compounds responsible for many of the health benefits of green tea are capable of penetrating the tissues of the eyes and have antioxidant activity there, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Green tea has already been hailed for other health benefits, with antioxidants called catechins responsible for fighting cancer.
WebMD Health News has reported that according to the researchers, catechins are among a number of antioxidants, including vitamin C, vitamin E, lutein, and zeaxanthin, thought to help protect the delicate tissues of the eye from glaucoma and other eye diseases. But until now it wasn’t known if the catechins in green tea were capable of being absorbed into the tissues of the eye.
In the study, laboratory rats were fed green tea extract and then their eye tissues analysed.
The results showed that different parts of the eye absorbed varying amounts of catechins. The area with the highest concentration of catechins was the retina and the area with the least absorption of catechins was the cornea.
The study also showed that a measure of antioxidant activity lasted for up to 20 hours after drinking the green tea extract.
Researcher Kai On Chu of the department of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and colleagues say that their findings suggest that drinking green tea could be protective of the eyes.
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