Weisburger J H
American Health Foundation, Valhalla, NY 10595-1599, USA.
Cancer Lett. 1997 Mar 19;114(1-2):315-7. doi: 10.1016/s0304-3835(97)04691-0.
In many parts of the world, green tea and black tea are produced from the plant Camellia sinensis. Tea is one of the most widely consumed beverages, second only to water. It is one of the safest beverages since it is made with boiling, sterile water and has been popular for over 4000 years. Dogma has it that people knew it might have health promoting properties since it was frequently used as fluid supply for patients suffering from infectious diseases. However, detailed, focused research on the health benefits of tea is of recent vintage. Initially, such research was carried out in Japan and China and, because the local customs, this research involved green tea. Now, a number of other scientists in Europe and in the United States have conducted investigations on black tea, and in some laboratories exacting comparative studies were performed utilizing black and green tea. The major interest in tea and health stems from the high level of antioxidant tea polyphenols in green tea and black tea. The chemistry of the tea polyphenols has been worked out to some extent. Thus, their role in lowering the risk of heart disease and of a number of types of cancer begins to be understood. Most productive are multi-disciplinary approaches, considering data from epidemiology and field studies, and laboratory research in animal models for heart disease and cancers of various types, as well as through in vitro experiments.
在世界许多地方，绿茶和红茶都是由茶树（Camellia sinensis）制成的。茶是消费最为广泛的饮品之一，仅次于水。它是最安全的饮品之一，因为它是用煮沸的无菌水冲泡而成，且已经流行了4000多年。传统观念认为，人们知道茶可能具有促进健康的特性，因为它经常被用作传染病患者的液体供应。然而，对茶的健康益处进行详细、有针对性的研究却是最近才开始的。最初，这类研究在日本和中国开展，由于当地的习俗，这项研究涉及绿茶。现在，欧洲和美国的一些其他科学家对红茶进行了调查，并且在一些实验室里对红茶和绿茶进行了精确的对比研究。对茶与健康的主要兴趣源于绿茶和红茶中高水平的抗氧化剂茶多酚。茶多酚的化学性质在一定程度上已经被研究清楚。因此，它们在降低心脏病和多种癌症风险方面的作用开始被人们所了解。最有成效的是多学科方法，综合考虑来自流行病学和实地研究的数据，以及在心脏病和各种癌症动物模型中的实验室研究，还有体外实验的数据。
