Table of contents:
- Frequent drinking of green tea helps improve brain function
- Drinking green tea can also improve the symptoms of Down syndrome
Are you one of those who often drink tea? Usually many people enjoy a cup of hot tea at breakfast or during their relaxing time in the afternoon. Sipping hot tea can indeed generate energy and relax the mind before or after starting an activity.
One type of tea that many enjoy doing is green tea or green tea. Green tea is loved by many people because of its unique taste and has many health benefits. Now, a new study published in the journal Psychopharmacology shows that a compound in green tea, known as EGCG, can improve brain function, especially memory.
Frequent drinking of green tea helps improve brain function
Unlike other teas, green tea is made from leaves that are not oxidized, so it is rich in antioxidants. Previous research has linked tea to many health benefits such as reducing the risk of stroke, heart disease, and fighting prostate cancer.
Research conducted by a research team from the Basel University Hospital in Switzerland said green tea could be used as a promising treatment tool in the management of cognitive diseases associated with neuropsychiatric disorders, such as dementia and Alzheimer's.
In this study, the researchers recruited 12 healthy male respondents and asked them to drink a soft drink containing a few grams of green tea extract before they solved tasks involving memory skills.
Then, the researchers analyzed how green tea affected the brain activity of all respondents using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). As a result, it is known that there is increased connectivity between the right superior parietal lobule and the frontal cortex of the brain. The neuroprotective findings also correlated positively with the participants' improved task performance.
Drinking green tea can also improve the symptoms of Down syndrome
In a recent study carried out by the Biological Systems Group at the Spanish Genome Coordination Center analyzed the potential of EGCG in a tea compound to improve symptoms of Down syndrome in 87 people with the condition. This study was divided into two parts, one group was given a pill containing tea extract for one year, while the other group was given a placebo. All participants also received cognitive training.
As a result, those who took the tea extract pill scored well on tests of visual memory, the ability to control responses and the ability to plan or count. MRI results also show an increase in connectivity between nerve cells and brain areas related to language.
Even so, the researchers emphasize that based on the results of this study should be reviewed by involving a larger sample to find out whether the benefits of this tea are specific for Down syndrome or have a more general effect on brain disease.
The researchers also said that the participants drank soft drinks that contained green tea extract instead of pure green tea extract. This is done to avoid the caffeine component of pure green tea extract that might impact their cognitive performance.
