Food Quality and Design Group, Wageningen University, The Netherlands.
Marketing and Consumer Behaviour Group, Wageningen University, The Netherlands.
Food Res Int. 2017 Sep;99(Pt 1):72-83. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2017.05.002. Epub 2017 May 5.
Matcha tea is gaining popularity throughout the world in recent years and is frequently referred to as a mood-and-brain food. Previous research has demonstrated that three constituents present in matcha tea, l-theanine, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), and caffeine, affect mood and cognitive performance. However, to date there are no studies assessing the effect of matcha tea itself. The present study investigates these effects by means of a human intervention study administering matcha tea and a matcha containing product. Using a randomized, placebo-controlled, single-blind study, 23 consumers participated in four test sessions. In each session, participants consumed one of the four test products: matcha tea, matcha tea bar (each containing 4g matcha tea powder), placebo tea, or placebo bar. The assessment was performed at baseline and 60min post-treatment. The participants performed a set of cognitive tests assessing attention, information processing, working memory, and episodic memory. The mood state was measured by means of a Profile of Mood States (POMS). After consuming the matcha products compared to placebo versions, there were mainly significant improvements in tasks measuring basic attention abilities and psychomotor speed in response to stimuli over a defined period of time. In contrast to expectations, the effect was barely present in the other cognitive tasks. The POMS results revealed no significant changes in mood. The influence of the food matrix was demonstrated by the fact that on most cognitive performance measures the drink format outperformed the bar format, particularly in tasks measuring speed of spatial working memory and delayed picture recognition. This study suggests that matcha tea consumed in a realistic dose can induce slight effects on speed of attention and episodic secondary memory to a low degree. Further studies are required to elucidate the influences of the food matrix.
抹茶近年来在全球范围内越来越受欢迎，常被称为一种调节情绪和大脑的食物。先前的研究表明，抹茶中存在三种成分，即茶氨酸、表没食子儿茶素没食子酸酯（EGCG）和咖啡因，它们会影响情绪和认知表现。然而，迄今为止，还没有研究评估抹茶本身的影响。本研究通过一项人体干预研究来评估抹茶茶及其含抹茶产品的影响。研究采用随机、安慰剂对照、单盲设计，共有 23 名消费者参与了四项测试。在每个测试中，参与者饮用了四种测试产品中的一种：抹茶茶、抹茶棒（各含 4 克抹茶粉）、安慰剂茶或安慰剂棒。在基线和治疗后 60 分钟进行评估。参与者进行了一系列认知测试，包括注意力、信息处理、工作记忆和情景记忆。通过心境状态量表（POMS）评估情绪状态。与安慰剂版本相比，饮用抹茶产品后，在多项评估基本注意力能力和对刺激的心理运动速度的任务中，主要出现了显著改善。与预期相反，在其他认知任务中，效果几乎不存在。POMS 结果显示情绪没有明显变化。食品基质的影响表现在，在大多数认知表现测试中，饮料形式优于棒状形式，尤其是在评估空间工作记忆速度和延迟图片识别的任务中。本研究表明，在现实剂量下饮用抹茶可能会在一定程度上引起注意力速度和情景二级记忆速度的轻微变化。需要进一步的研究来阐明食品基质的影响。
