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Research
into the health-promoting properties of green tea is yielding information that
reveals the amazing benefits of green tea for skin care treatments.
Dr. Stephen Hsu, a cell biologist in the Medical College of Georgia Department
of Oral Biology, has uncovered a wealth of information about green tea skin
care in the last few years. Most importantly, he helped determine that
compounds in green tea called polyphenols help eliminate free radicals, which
can cause cancer by altering DNA and are deemed to be a main cause of skin cell
aging. He also found that polyphenols
safeguard healthy cells while ushering cancer cells to their death. He
recently began studying the most abundant green tea polyphenol, EGCG.
Using pooled human keratinocytes (skin cells), he and his colleagues studied
the normal growth of the skin cells and compared it to the growth of the cells
when exposed to EGCG. To their astonishment, they found that EGCG (green tea polyphenols) reactivated dying skin cells.
"Cells that migrate toward the surface of the skin normally live about 28
days, and by day 20, they basically sit on the upper layer of the skin getting
ready to die," Dr. Hsu said. "But EGCG (green tea polyphenols)
reactivates them. I was so surprised."
The skin consists of three layers: the epidermis (outer layer), dermis
(mid-layer) and hypodermis (inner layer). Dr. Hsu learned that green tea
polyphenols aren't absorbed beyond the epidermis, so any benefits are limited
to that outer layer of skin. But the benefits seem significant for skin care
and anti-aging treatments. Skin cells in the epidermis, or keratinocytes, are
in a constant state of renewal. The newly formed cells, stem cells, are
undifferentiated but rapidly dividing. As they push through the epidermis, they
begin differentiating.
During this migration and differentiation process, the cells are very active,
expending and consuming vast amounts of energy. Once they reach the surface of
the skin, their metabolic activity slows dramatically and they prepare to die,
while forming a water-proof, sheet-like structure. As they die off about a
month into their life cycle, they are replaced by another wave of migrating
cells supplied by stem cells, starting the process all over again.
But EGCG green Tea Polyphenols seems to
be a fountain of youth for skin cells. "When exposed to EGCG, the old
cells found in the upper layers of the epidermis appear to start dividing
again," Dr. Hsu said. "They make DNA and produce more energy. They
are reactivated. There are lots of unknowns-this is the first step into the
door-but if we can energize dying skin cells, we can probably improve the skin
condition." In addition, the researchers found that EGCG accelerates the
differentiation process among new cells. Combining
these effects of EGCG green tea
polyphenols on skin cells in different layers of the epidermis, Dr. Hsu noted
potential benefits for skin conditions as diverse as aphthous ulcers, psoriasis,
rosascea, wrinkles and wounds. "If skin cells surrounding wounds or
infections don't heal in time, fibroblasts in the connective tissue may rush in
to fill the void and cause scar tissue formation," he said. "If we
can spur the skin cells to differentiate and proliferate, we can potentially
accelerate the wound-healing process and prevent scarring."
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