There’s new reason to never underestimate the power of green tea. New research shows that green tea contains an ingredient that can kill oral cancer cells, and leave healthy cells untouched.
In their research at Penn State, researchers studied normal oral cells side-by-side with oral cancer cells to determine how the ingredient, known as EGCG, affected the cells.
They exposed the cells to various concentrations of EGCG typically found in the saliva after chewing green-tea chewing gum. In testing for antioxidant response, the scientists found that EGCJ selectively affected the cancer cells, effectively turning them “off,” while at the same time, leaving normal cells alone. Doctors believe this research is applicable to multiple kinds of cancer cells, not just oral cancer… and may one day lead to new anti-cancer treatments without harmful side effects.
Oral cancer is expected to kill more than 8,000 people in the United States this year.