Botanical Index No. 476

Green Or Black Tea

camellia sinensis

Medicinal Actions

ACE Inhibitor, Amebicide, Analgesic, Antiadenosine, Antiaggregant, Antialzheimeran, Antiarthritic, Antiatherosclerotic, Antibacterial, Antibradykinin, Anticancer, Anticapillary Fragility, Anticariogenic, Antidepressant, Antidiabetic, Antiinflammatory, Antileukemic, Antimutagenic, Antinitrosaminic, Antioxidant, Antiprostaglandin, Antiseptic, Antispasmodic, Antithiamin, Antiviral, Apoptotic, Astringent, Cardiotonic, Catabolic, Chemopreventive, CNS Stimulant, Decongestant, Detoxicant, Diuretic, Glycolytic, Hepatoprotective, Hypocholesterolemic, Hypoglycemic, Hypotensive, Hypotriglyceridemic, Immunostimulant, Lipolytic, Myorelaxant, Neurotonic, Positive Inotropic, Radioprotective, Respirastimulant, Secretagogue, Thermogenic, Colic, High Triglyceride

Primary Conditions Treated

Bronchodilator Hemostat Acute Diarrhea ADD Agitation Alcoholism Allergy Alzheimer’s Ameba Angina Anorexia Apoplexy Arthrosis Asthma Atherosclerosis Bacteria Bite Bladder Stone Bleeding Bronchosis Bruise Burn Cancer breast colon esophagus intestine liver lung pancreas rectum skin stomach Capillary Fragility Cardiopathy Caries Circulosis Cold Colitis Congestion Cough Cramp Cystosis Depression Diarrhea Diabetes Dropsy Dysentery Heimer’s Dyspepsia Edema Emphysema Encephalosis Enterosis Enterovirus Epilepsy Escherichia Esophagosis Fatigue Fever Gastrosis Gingivosis Goiter Gout Hangover Headache Hepatosis Herpes High Blood Pressure High Cholesterol Hyperdipsia Hyperthyroidism Immunodepression Infection Inflammation Kidney Stone Lethargy Leukemia Malaria Melanoma Metastasis Migraine Nausea Nephrosis Obesity Odontorrhagia Ophthalmia Pain Paralysis Plaque Polyp Shingle Smallpox Stone Streptococcus Stroke Sunburn Swelling Toxemia Tuberculosis Ulcer Vertigo Virus Vomiting Water Retention Wrinkle

General Dosage

1–2 tsp dry leaf/cup water 1–3 ×/day; 50–100 mg green tea polyphenols; 100–200 mg StX; three 333-mg green tea capsules, each containing 50 mg polyphenols/day.

Safety & Contraindications

Class 2d. Fermented black tea not recommended for excess or long-term use. In excess can cause GI distress and nervous irritability. Caffeine syndrome in overindulgence, as with coffee, etc.. All things in moderation. One woman who consumed the equivalent of 65 g tea leaves/day for 5 years exhibited liver dysfunction. Ascites and splenomegaly resolved after tea was discontinued. Pedersen, who does not cover conventional tea, says that peppermint leaf contains much astringent tannin, which can damage the liver and intestine with prolonged use. Since the more widely used tea often contains twice as much tannin as peppermint, this recommendation should be doubly pertinent under tea, or maybe we should call these tannins by the more attractive names “OPCs, polyphenols, and pycnogenols” and declare them useful antioxidant good guys instead of hepatotoxic bad guys. Regarding caffeine, “Pregnant women should under no circumstances exceed a dosage of 300 mg/day. Infants whose nursing mothers consume beverage containing caffeine could suffer from sleep disorders”.

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