Study: Tea Extracts Help Lower Cholesterol

Drink your tea, lower your cholesterol?

Research published in Monday's issue of Archives of Internal Medicine is the first human study to find that a tea product lowers cholesterol.

A clinical trial testing a theaflavin-enriched green tea extract is the first human study to find that a tea product lowers cholesterol.

The study, led by Dr. David Maron of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, included 240 men and women with high cholesterol levels in China. During the 12-week trial, participants who already on a low-fat diet were randomly chosen to receive either a placebo or a 375-milligram soft gel capsule containing green and black tea extracts enriched with the antioxidant theaflavin -- the equivalent of 35 cups of high-quality black tea and 7 cups of green tea.

"Personally, I was very surprised," Maron said. "I expected, if anything, a very slight cholesterol-lowering effect. But what we saw was a 16 percent reduction in low density lipoprotein cholesterol."

Tea is the second most widely consumed beverage worldwide, according to the study. Experiments in animals have demonstrated that green tea, black tea, and flavonoids derived from green and black teas lower cholesterol. But previous experiments in humans have failed to show any effects on cholesterol.

The 375-milligram capsule used in this study is an extract made up of 75 milligrams of theaflavins (flavonoids from black tea), 150 milligrams of catechins (flavonoids from green tea) and 150 milligrams of other tea antioxidants called polyphenols.

"The present study represents the first step in establishing the practicality, safety and LDL-lowering ability of this tea product," Maron said.

Tea might not hurt when it comes to lowering cholesterol, but Maron emphasizes that it's probably not the primary way to go about it. The National Cholesterol Education Program recommends eating a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet with more viscous fiber and switching from butter to margarine as the initial therapy for lowering LDL cholesterol in people without heart disease.

"Although the results are exciting, we do not want people to take the extract in place of their medications," Maron said. "Unlike statins, this product has not been proven to prevent heart attacks or stroke, or to prolong life. The study shows that the tea extract is a useful adjunct to lowering LDL in people with high cholesterol already on a low-fat diet."

While pleased with the initial outcomes, Maron said more testing is needed to determine long-term safety, the effective dosing range, and the impact when the extract is taken with medication.