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Camellia sinensis

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Botanical Name :Camellia sinensis
Family: Theaceae
Genus: Camellia
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Ericales
Species: C. sinensis

Synonyms:
AR25®, Camellia, Camellia assamica , Camellia sinensis , Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze, Camellia tea, catechins, Chinese tea, EGCG, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, Exolise®, flavonol, GTE, green tea extract, Matsu-cha Tea, polyphenols, Polyphenon E, Thea bohea , Thea sinensis , Thea viridis , Theanine, Theifers, Veregen T.


Nomenclature and taxonomy :
The name sinensis means Chinese in Latin. Camellia is taken from the Latinized name of Rev. Georg Kamel, S.J. (1661–1706), a Czech-born Jesuit priest who became both a prominent botanist and a missionary to the Philippines. Though Kamel did not discover or name the plant, Carl Linnaeus chose his name for the genus to honor Kamel’s contributions to science. Older names for the tea plant include Thea bohea, Thea sinensis and Thea viridis.

Habitat :Chinese Camellia sinensis is native to mainland China South and Southeast Asia, but it is today cultivated across the world in tropical and subtropical regions. The major tea growing regions today include India, China, Sri Lanka, Japan, Taiwan, Kenya, Turkey, Argentina, Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe…. and more.


Description:
Chinese Camellia sinensis is the species of plant whose leaves and leaf buds are used to produce Chinese tea. It is of the genus Camellia (simplified Chinese; traditional Chinese; pinyin: Cháhu?), a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. White tea, green tea, oolong, pu-erh tea and black tea are all harvested from this species, but are processed differently to attain different levels of oxidation. Kukicha (twig tea) is also harvested from Camellia sinensis, but uses twigs and stems rather than leaves. Common names include tea plant, tea tree, and tea shrub.

 

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Click to see different pictures of   Camellia sinensis
There are two major varieties that characterize this species (1) Chinese Camellia sinensis var. sinensis (L.) Kuntz and (2) Camellia sinensis var. clonal assamica (Masters) Kitam.

It is an evergreen shrub or small tree that is usually trimmed to below two metres (six feet) when cultivated for its leaves. It has a strong taproot. The flowers are yellow-white, 2.5–4 cm in diameter, with 7 to 8 petals.

The seeds of Camellia sinensis and Camellia oleifera can be pressed to yield tea oil, a sweetish seasoning and cooking oil that should not be confused with tea tree oil, an essential oil that is used for medical and cosmetic purposes, and originates from the leaves of a different plant.

Camellia sinensis plant, with cross-section of the flower (lower left) and seeds (lower right).The leaves are 4–15 cm long and 2–5 cm broad. Fresh leaves contain about 4% caffeine. The young, light green leaves are preferably harvested for tea production; they have short white hairs on the underside. Older leaves are deeper green. Different leaf ages produce differing tea qualities, since their chemical compositions are different. Usually, the tip (bud) and the first two to three leaves are harvested for processing. This hand picking is repeated every one to two weeks.

Cultivation:
Camellia sinensis is mainly cultivated in tropical and subtropical climates, in areas with at least 127 cm. (50 inches) of rainfall a year. However, the clonal one is commercially cultivated from the equator to as far north as Cornwall on the UK mainland. Many high quality teas are grown at high elevations, up to 1500 meters (5,000 ft), as the plants grow more slowly and acquire a better flavour.

Tea plants will grow into a tree if left undisturbed, but cultivated plants are pruned to waist height for ease of plucking. Two principal varieties are used, the small-leaved Chinese variety plant (C. sinensis sinensis) and the large-leaved Assamese plant (C. sinensis assamica), used mainly for black tea.

Click to see:How To Grow Tea (Camellia Sinensis) :

Medical uses:
*The leaves have been used in traditional Chinese medicine and other medical systems to treat asthma (functioning as a bronchodilator), angina pectoris, peripheral vascular disease, and coronary artery disease.

*Tea extracts have become field of interest, due to their notional antibacterial activity. The preservation of processed organic food and the treatment of persistent bacterial infections are particularly being investigated.

*Green tea leaves and extracts have shown to be effective against bacteria responsible for bad breath.

*The tea component epicatechin gallate is being researched because in vitro experiments showed it can reverse methicillin resistance in bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus. If confirmed, this means the combined intake of a tea extract containing this component might also enhance the effectiveness of methicillin treatment against some resistant bacteria in vivo.

Click to see different medicinal uses:

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.


Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camellia_sinensis
http://www.eddas-menu.com/kook/kook.php?pre=groenethee/&page=groenetheesoort.html
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/green-tea/NS_patient-green_tea/DSECTION=synonyms

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Scientists Discover How Red Wine and Green Tea Stops Prostate Cancer

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In what could lead to a major advance in the treatment of prostate cancer, scientists now know exactly why polyphenols in red wine and green tea inhibit cancer growth. This new discovery explains how antioxidants in red wine and green tea produce a combined effect to disrupt an important cell signaling pathway necessary for prostate cancer growth. This finding is important because it may lead to the development of, or improve current treatments that could stop or slow cancer progression.

“Not only does SphK1/S1P signaling pathway play a role in prostate cancer, but it also plays a role in other cancers, such as colon cancer, breast cancer, and gastric cancers,” said Gerald Weissmann, editor-in-chief of The FASEB Journal. “Even if future studies show that drinking red wine and green tea isn’t as effective in humans as we hope, knowing that the compounds in those drinks disrupt this pathway is an important step toward developing drugs that hit the same target.”

Scientists conducted in vitro experiments which showed that the inhibition of the sphingosine kinase-1/sphingosine 1-phosphate (SphK1/S1P) pathway was essential for green tea and wine polyphenols to kill prostate cancer cells. Next, mice genetically altered to develop a human prostate cancer tumor were either treated or not treated with green tea and wine polyphenols. The treated mice showed reduced tumor growth as a result of the inhibited SphK1/S1P pathway. To mimic the preventive effects of polyphenols, another experiment used three groups of mice given drinking water, drinking water with a green tea compound known as EGCg, or drinking water with a different green tea compound, polyphenon E. Human prostate cancer cells were implanted in the mice and results showed a dramatic decrease in tumor size in the mice drinking the EGCg or polyphenon E mixtures.

“The profound impact that the antioxidants in red wine and green tea have on our bodies is more than anyone would have dreamt just 25 years ago,” Weissmann added. “As long as they are taken in moderation, all signs show that red wine and green tea may be ranked among the most potent ‘health foods’ we know.”

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Source :Elements4Health

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Healthy Tips

Green Tea Could Reduce Glaucoma Risk

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Catechins in green tea could help protect you against   glucoma and other eye diseases. New research finds that the ingredients travel from your digestive system into the tissues of your eyes.

Scientists analyzed eye tissue from rats that drank green tea. They found that eye tissues such as the lens and retina had absorbed green tea catechins.

According to NutraIngredients:

“The [study’s] authors said that oxidative stress causes biological disturbances such as DNA damage and activation of proteolytic enzymes that can lead to tissue cell damage or dysfunction and eventually many ophthalmic diseases.”

Resources:
NutraIngredients April 26, 2010
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry February 10, 2010;58(3):1523-34

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Healthy Tips

Green Tea Extract May be More Effective

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Green tea could raise your energy expenditure, and possibly even help battle obesity, according to a new study.

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Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a compound found in green tea, was shown to increase fat oxidation by 33 percent.

This result comes from one of many studies that have looked at green tea’s potential in weight loss. EGCG has been shown to be a key component in many of these studies.

There are a number of ways the EGCG could help aid weight loss:

•It could increase metabolism and fat oxidation
•It could inhibit fat cell development
•It could increase fat excretion

You may click to see->Green tea extract may prevent fatty liver :

Reources:
NutraIngredients April 9, 2010
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition April 7, 2010 [Epub ahead of print]

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Healthy Tips

Green Tea Helps Fight Eye Diseases

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Scientists have discovered that green tea can help prevent glaucoma and other eye diseases.

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They have found that the healthful substances found in green tea — renowned for their powerful antioxidant and disease-fighting properties — do penetrate into tissues of the eye.

The new study has documented how the lens, retina, and other eye tissues absorb these substances.

Chi Pui Pang and colleagues pointed out that so-called green tea ‘catechins’ have been among a number of antioxidants thought capable of protecting the eye.

Those include vitamin C, vitamin E, lutein, and zeaxanthin. Until now, however, nobody knew if the catechins in green tea actually passed from the stomach and gastrointestinal tract into the tissues of the eye.

The researchers resolved that uncertainty in experiments with laboratory rats that drank green tea. Analysis of eye tissues showed beyond a doubt that eye structures absorbed significant amounts of individual catechins.

The retina, for example, absorbed the highest levels of gallocatechin, while the aqueous humor tended to absorb epigallocatechin. The effects of green tea catechins in reducing harmful oxidative stress in the eye lasted for up to 20 hours.

“Our results indicate that green tea consumption could benefit the eye against oxidative stress,” the study concluded.

The study appears in ACS’ bi-weekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Source : BBC NEWS

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