Matcha Tea - Superfood

Matcha Tea - Superfood

Green tea is known for its many qualities: detoxifying superfood, antioxidant and particularly rich in polyphenols which demonstrate numerous activities promoting cardiovascular health, ¹ and its important antioxidant properties attributed to flavonoids help fight the formation of free radicals in the body, reduce inflammation and have antimicrobial effects. ²

A study concluded that regular consumption of matcha, this Japanese tea, can have a positive effect on physical and mental health. ³

Matcha tea can be consumed instead of coffee; this beautiful, invigorating green powder promotes alertness and concentration. ⁴

Also, according to Dr. Camilla Skokholm, matcha tea is a powerful health beverage for many reasons and is partly why centenarians in Okinawa, Japan, live so long. She mentions that it also contains a very important microbiome bacteria called Akkermansia muciniphila .

So what are the characteristics of this bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila?

In recent years, Akkermansia muciniphila has attracted great interest due to the positive correlation between its intestinal colonization and the host's homeostatic metabolism.

The bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila ( A. muciniphila ) was first detected in human stool in 2004. Due to its specialization in the degradation of mucin, it is an essential microorganism for ensuring the barrier function of the intestinal mucosa. ⁵

It has been shown in a study that consumption of matcha green tea extract alleviates metabolic abnormalities induced by a high-fat diet because epigallocatechin, the component of matcha green tea, stimulates the growth of Akkermansia municiphila . ⁶

Akkermansia muciniphila therefore appears to be a promising target due to its beneficial effects for the treatment of metabolic syndrome and associated diseases, such as improvement of type II diabetes, obesity and anti-inflammation. ^7-8

Akkermansia muciniphila thus establishes its position as a new generation probiotic.

References:

1. Eng QY, Thanikachalam PV, Ramamurthy S. Molecular understanding of Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. J Ethnopharmacol. 2018 Jan 10; 210:296-310. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2017.08.035. Epub 2017 Aug 31. PMID: 28864169.

2. Sharangi, Amit, Medicinal and therapeutic potentialities of tea (Camellia sinensis L.) – A review. Food Research International June 2009, 42(5-6):529-535

3. Joanna Kochman, Karolina Jakubczyk, Justyna Antoniewicz, Honorata Mruk, Katarzyna Janda. Health Benefits and Chemical Composition of Matcha Green Tea: A Review, Molecules, 2020 Dec 27;26 (1):85. doi: 10.3390/molecules26010085,

4. Dietz C, Dekker M, Piqueras-Fiszman B. An intervention study on the effect of matcha tea, in drink and snack bar formats, on mood and cognitive performance. Food Res Int. 2017 Sep;99(Pt 1):72-83. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2017.05.002. Epub 2017 May 5. PMID: 28784536.

5. Zhou JC, Zhang XW. Akkermansia muciniphila: a promising target for the therapy of metabolic syndrome and related diseases. Chin J Nat Med. 2019 Nov;17(11):835-841. doi: 10.1016/S1875-5364(19)30101-3. PMID: 31831130.

6. Yuefei Wang, Yueer Yu, Lejia Ding, Jihong Zhou. Matcha green tea targets the gut–liver axis to alleviate obesity and metabolic disorders induced by a high-fat diet. Forehead. Nutr., 01 August 2022 Sec. Food Chemistry Volume 9 - 2022 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.931060

7. Hagi T, Belzer C. The interaction of Akkermansia muciniphila with host-derived substances, bacteria and diets. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2021 Jun;105(12):4833-4841. doi:10.1007/s00253-021-11362-3. Epub 2021 Jun 14. PMID: 34125276; PMCID: PMC8236039.

8. Dietz C, Dekker M, Piqueras-Fiszman B. An intervention study on the effect of matcha tea, in drink and snack bar formats, on mood and cognitive performance. Food Res Int. 2017 Sep;99(Pt 1):72-83. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2017.05.002. Epub 2017 May 5. PMID: 28784536.

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