Pu'er tea a wonder cure for diabetics

By Ye Jun (China Daily)

A sip of Pu'er tea can be as helpful as drugs in lowering blood sugar and preventing diabetes, says a recent press briefing by the Pu'er city government. That is the finding of scientists at Jilin University and the Changchun Science and Technology University, after two years of studies organized by Pu'er city, Yunnan province.

The provincial government's Science and Technology Department also organized a forum for health experts to discuss the health benefits of Pu'er.

"Owing to Pu'er tea's obvious effect in restraining some enzymes related to diabetes, the experts believe drinking the right amounts of Pu'er tea can help lower blood sugar levels and prevent diabetes to some extent," says Sheng Jun, deputy mayor of Pu'er city.

The first phase of the study involved 20 genetically obese lab rats with very high blood sugar levels. Researchers fed 10 of them with regular amounts of mature Pu'er tea while the other 10 rats were not given any.

"Only two rats of the group not fed any tea, survived after 11 months. The others became infected and had sores before dying," says Sheng. "Meanwhile, all the 10 rats that drank Pu'er tea survived, and showed no trace of sores or infection."

The research team also compared Pu'er tea with Rosiglitazone, a widely used medicine to lower blood sugar levels. After two weeks, they found that the rats that were fed Rosiglitazone had 36.5 percent less blood sugar, while the figure was 42 percent for the group that was fed Pu'er tea. Also, those on Pu'er lost weight while those on the drug showed no evidence of any weight loss.

The researchers carried out a test among 120 diabetic volunteers. They were asked to drink Pu'er regularly and stop their medicines, while making no change to their dietary habits. Seventy percent reported blood sugar levels lowered to below 7 mmol/L, with an average decrease of 35 percent.

Although all teas are believed to be capable of lowering blood sugar levels, Pu'er and oolong are thought to be the most effective. In fact, they sometimes lower blood sugar level so fast that some people feel weak in the limbs, experience a faster heartbeat and even feel dizzy - all signs of too low a blood sugar level. The Chinese refer to such people as zui cha, or tea drunk.

Sheng Jun reveals that Yunnan has one of China's best longevity rates and attributes this to tea drinking. "Moreover, as Yunnan has the lowest incidence of cancer, Pu'er city has the lowest number of cancer patients in Yunnan."

The city has applied for a patent for its research into the health benefits of Pu'er, and will continue with its tests.

普洱茶 - TVB programme

Healthy Notes 普洱茶与健康

健康茶饮　　加入时间：2007-3-20 14:40:55

一、 茶叶的营养功能

茶叶中的天然营养元素，主要是蛋白质、氨基酸、生物碱、茶多酚、碳水化合物、矿物质、维生素、天然色素、脂肪酸、茶氨酸等。

二、普洱茶的性味

“茶为万病之药”，药性有四气五味之分：“四气”即寒、凉、温、热，“五味”即辛、甘、苦、酸、咸。

普洱茶大多经过长时间的渥堆，多酚类物质在湿热条件下和渥堆中产生微生物的作用下产生复杂氧化作用，形成普洱茶滋味浓厚、醇和、耐泡，具特殊的陈香，茶性温和。黑茶主要保健作用是消食下气去胃胀，醒脾健胃，解油腻。普洱茶降血脂、降胆固醇、减肥功效明显。

三、普洱茶的保健功能

1． 普洱茶中的营养成分

普洱茶因其特殊的制茶工艺，茶叶中对人体有益的茶多酚等特质充分氧化，形成了独特的风味而具有药理保健功能。黄酮苷具有维生素P的作用，普洱茶含有多种丰富的抗癌维生素，如β-胡萝卜素、维生素B1、B2、C、E等，用电子检测法观察，普洱茶共有三十多种化学元素，发现含有多种极为重要的抗癌微量元素。

◆ 普洱茶中含有维生素P、B1、B2、C、E等，这些维生素，用开水浸泡十分钟后，平均有80%可以浸出，所以普洱茶是人体维生素的很好来源，尤其B2和C最为重要。在茶叶中维生素B2的含量为100克中含有1.2毫克。维生素C又称抗坏血酸，具有多方面的生理功能，尤其是对于防治动脉硬化、抗感冒、抗出血、抗癌、抗肝炎的意义，已引起普遍的重视。

◆ 茶叶中含有4-7%的无机物多数能溶于水而被人体吸收，其中，以钾、磷最多；其次是钙、镁、锰、铝等；再次是微量的铜、锌、钠、镍、铍、硼、硫氟等对改善机体内部循环有重要意义。

◆ 普洱茶中的氟化物对防龄齿有重要作用。茶中的锰可防止生殖机能紊乱和惊劂抽搐，锌可以促进儿童生长发育，防止心机梗塞与暴卒，并有抗癌作用，茶叶中的铜、铁对造血功能有帮助。

2． 古书记载的普洱茶的功能

《滇南新语》、《本草纲目拾遗》、《滇南闻见录》等记载：普洱茶具有消食弃毒，理气去胀，清热化痰，利肠通泄，驱风醒酒，除烦清心等综合全面地阐述了普洱茶的药效功能。

3． 普洱茶保健功能的现代研究进展

◆ 降脂减肥

临床试验证明：“云南普洱沱茶对减少类脂化合物，胆固醇含量有良好效果”。治疗高脂血病的疗效作了55例临床试验，并与降脂较好的药物安妥明治疗31例作对比，普洱茶的疗效高于安妥明。实验还证明，长期饮用普洱茶不仅可以减轻体重，而且能使其胆固醇及甘油三酯减少。所以长期饮用普洱茶有治疗肥胖症的功用。

◆ 普洱茶的降压、降脂、抗动脉硬化

用普洱茶对人血压心率及脑血流图的影响研究表明，饮普洱茶后脑血管的生理状态和脑雪流动力学状态都发生了变化。饮普洱茶后能引起人的血管舒张、血压暂时下降、心率减慢和脑部血流量减少等生理效应，故对老年人和高血压与脑动脉硬化患者，均有良好作用。此外，普洱茶抗动脉硬化作用的研究证实，普洱茶可以降低血浆总胆固醇、三酸甘油酯及游离脂肪酸，亦可减轻胆固醇性脂肪肝现象及增加粪便中胆固醇的排出。显示饮用普洱茶可能具有降脂、改善胰岛素抗拒及预防心血管疾病的效果。

由离体实验及动物实验的结果，普洱茶抽出物具有明显的抗氧化活性，清除自由基，降低LDL不饱和脂肪酸的数量及增加LDL生育酚的含量，以降低LDL的氧化敏感度。推论饮用普洱茶可预防动脉粥状硬化及心血管疾病的发生。

◆防癌、抗癌 

普洱茶杀癌细胞的作用最为强烈，甚至常人喝茶百分之一的浓度就有明显的作用。普洱茶中茶多酚及其氧化、降解、络合产物都是重要的抗癌防癌成分，研究还发现普洱茶抗突变的作用，也就是防癌的功效，其有效成分是茶多酚中的B组化学成分。且云南大叶种原料加工的普洱茶中富含的多种物质，如β-胡萝卜素、维生素B1、B2、C、E等，都是重要的抗癌微量元素。它们在普洱茶饮用过程中协同产生了保健效果。

◆护胃、养胃 

在适宜的浓度下，饮用平和的普洱茶对肠胃的影响不产生刺激作用，粘稠、甘滑、醇厚的普洱茶进入人体肠胃形成的膜附着于胃的表层，对胃产生有益的保护层，长期的饮用普洱茶后可以起到护胃、养胃作用。是国内外崇尚饮用普洱茶的消费者称谓普洱茶为“美容茶”、“益寿茶”主要因素。

◆抗衰老 

在饮用发酵的熟制普洱茶中，其起活性的重要成分是茶红素（TR）、茶黄素（TF）、茶褐素（TB）和没食子酸、维生素C等。发酵熟制的普洱茶由于加工过程中微生物的作用，大分子多糖类物质的转化形成了大量新的可溶性单糖和寡糖，加工中期维生素C成倍增加，这些物质对提高人体免役系统的功能发挥着重要的作用，这些成分也是普洱茶在养生健体，延年益寿优于其它茶类独特之处。

◆健齿护齿

用普洱健齿茶抑制变形球菌附着能力试验，发现普洱茶健齿茶具有抗菌斑形成作用，其有效浓度在0.125%-1%之间，以1%浓度效果最佳。普洱茶中含有许多生理活性成分，本身就具有杀菌消炎的作用。而普洱健齿茶的抗菌斑形成作用，主要通过抑制GTF（葡糖基转移酶）活性，抑制胞外葡聚糖的产生。

此外，普洱茶还具有抗疲劳、提供免役能力等功能。

Pu-Er Healthy Notes

Weight Reduction Wonder?

According to many international research studies and online reports, a few Japanese companies found that Pu Er tea can significantly reduce and maintain weight effectively.

Usually when a certain diet is being followed, many will tend to gain weight again when they stop and resume their normal diet. They experience 'weight rebound'. This happens because according to researchers any weight loss not resulting from exercise or body movement will only lead to basic calorie consumption reduction. Therefore, after the success of weight loss diet, even if the normal diet may cause excess calories, weight subsequent rebound. In order to curb the 'weight rebound' approach, researchers in Japan conducted a study on tea which can absorb fat.

The experiments concluded that by consuming either Jasmine tea or Pu-er tea, there was weight loss observed. By consuming Pu-er tea continuously for 11 days indicated very significant weight loss.

A suggestion by the reserachers:-

After breakfast - 10 grams Pu'er tea-250 CC hot water

After normal lunch meal - 37.5 grams hot Pu'er tea 1500 CC

After normal dinner meal - 20 grams Pu'er tea-500 CC

In the afternoon, the gastrointestinal absorption capacity is the higheset, hence to lose weight, drink Pu-er tea after lunch. Pu'er tea together with appropriate exercise will result in a healthy body.

Pu-Er Healthy Notes

Fermented tea eyed as natural preservative source

By staff reporter

16-Oct-2007 - Tea, seemingly always in the headlines for its potential health benefits, could also offer an interesting source of food preservatives, Chinese researchers report.

Extracts from microbially-fermented Puer tea and Fuzhuan brick-tea have the potential to inhibit several food-borne bacteria, including Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium sporogenes.

"With the trend of increasing use of natural and biological preservatives in food products, natural antimicrobial agents from microbial fermented tea may offer an innovative and interesting measure for such applications," wrote lead author Haizhen Mo from Henan Institute of Science and Technology.

Before such a resource can be tapped however the researchers state that several critical aspects still need to be clarified before the tea extracts can be industrialised as alternatives to synthetic preservatives such as like butylhydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylhydroxytoluene (BHT) to slow down the oxidative deterioration of food.

Suspicion over chemical-derived synthetic preservatives has pushed food makers to source natural preservatives such as rosemary extract instead, and market analysts Global Information pitch the global food preservative market at €422.7bn ($575bn), reaching €522bn ($710bn) by 2008.

Among the challenges left include identification of the exact components in the tea responsible for the antimicrobial effects. Indeed, Mo and co-authors ask whether it is the more well-known tea catechins or polyphenols or antimicrobial metabolites from the fermentation process not originally present in unfermented or green tea leaves that are responsible.

Another area in need of research is whether the antimicrobials could impact the flavour and nutritional aspects of the food products.

"These natural preservatives should be desirably colourless and tasteless so that they will not bring about any off flavour troubles," wrote the researchers.

"Ideally, these natural preservatives should not bring about any anti-nutritional effects," they added.

The process for fermentation also needs optimising, they said.

"[Both] Puer tea and Fuzhuan brick-tea… are produced through a solid state fermentation process, [and] standardisation and optimisation are necessary. Solid-state fermentation is described as a process where no free water is present.

"A standardised fermentation process will not only ensure food safety but also the product quality. 

"Furthermore, during the standardisation and optimisation of the process, more insight will be obtained for the metabolic mechanism of the fungi involved, how they produce antimicrobial metabolites and eventually an overproduction of these useful natural preservatives can be expected," they concluded.

The study was a collaboration with researchers from Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Source: Trends in Food Science & Technology (Elsevier)

Published on-line ahead of print, doi: 10.1016/j.tifs.2007.10.001

"Microbial fermented tea - a potential source of natural food preservatives"

Authors: H. Mo, Y. Zhu, Z. Chen