Catechins: Benefits and Functions, and Their Relationship with Tea Polyphenols Explained

Catechins have become a hot research topic recently because of their wide-ranging health and pharmacological benefits as well as their strong antioxidant properties in food. So what benefits and functions do catechins have? What is the relationship between catechins and tea polyphenols? Let's find out together!

1. What benefits and functions do catechins have?

1. Scavenging free radicals: Catechins are natural fat antioxidants, with antioxidant activity even higher than vitamin E! They can also scavenge free radicals produced by the human body, thereby protecting cell membranes.

2. Catechins have the benefit of delaying aging: because they scavenge free radicals, they can slow down aging.

3. Catechins help prevent tooth decay: because tea leaves contain fluoride, they can give teeth stronger resistance to acid erosion. In addition, clinical trials have shown that catechins can significantly reduce dental plaque and slow down periodontal disease.

4. Catechins have the benefit of altering the distribution of gut microorganisms: catechins can inhibit pathogenic bacteria in the human body (such as Clostridium botulinum) while not harming the reproduction of beneficial bacteria (such as lactic acid bacteria), so they help regulate the intestines.

5. Catechins have antibacterial effects: they can inhibit the bacteria that cause human skin diseases and have a very good effect on treating eczema.

6. Catechins have a deodorizing effect: catechins can remove the odor of methyl mercaptan, so they can remove bad breath in smokers and reduce the odor of pig, chicken and human waste (because catechins can resist odor-producing bacteria in the human intestinal tract).

Other benefits and functions of catechins: some studies also show that catechins help suppress blood pressure (they can lower diastolic and systolic pressure) and blood sugar (by inhibiting sugar-decomposing enzymes), lower blood cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and increase the amount of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (used in Japan to make low-cholesterol eggs); they also have anti-radiation and anti-ultraviolet effects (in the United States they have been made into cosmetics for UV protection), and anti-mutation effects (confirmed in microorganisms, but there are no human trial reports yet).

2. What is the relationship between catechins and tea polyphenols?

Tea polyphenols are high-purity active substances extracted and refined from green tea, and their main component is catechins. So green tea extract includes tea polyphenols, and catechins are the main active substances in tea polyphenols.

3. Precautions regarding catechins

Health hazards: inhalation, ingestion or skin absorption may be harmful to the body.

Environmental hazards: generally not harmful to water; without government permission, do not discharge the material into the surrounding environment.