Matcha green tea can kill breast cancer cells by preventing them from “refueling,” researchers from the Biomedical Research Centre at the University of Salford have found. Long hailed as a health-haloed ingredient, the findings, published in Aging, indicate that matcha green tea could hold potential for the natural treatment of cancer.

“Matcha green tea is a natural product used as a dietary supplement with great potential for a range of treatments. But the molecular mechanism underpinning all that remains largely unknown. By using metabolic phenotyping, we found that the tea is suppressing oxidative mitochondrial metabolism – in other words, it is preventing the cells from ‘re-fueling,' and therefore, they become inactive and die,” says Michael Lisanti, Professor of Translational Medicine at the Biomedical Research Centre, University of Salford.

“The effects on human breast cancer cells were very striking, the active ingredients in matcha having a surgical effect in knocking out certain signaling pathways. Our results are consistent with the idea that matcha may have significant therapeutic potential, mediating the metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells,” he adds.

Breast cancer is a leading cause of women’s cancers, although a small fraction of men may also be affected, according to the researchers. In this context, tumor recurrence is particularly lethal and in the advanced stages is associated with treatment failure, due to therapy resistance. As current treatment strategies often tend to be associated with serious side effects, new non-toxic treatment strategies would fulfill an unmet medical need.

Over the past years, the anti-cancer properties of green tea or its components have been investigated. Several recent studies have suggested that Japanese green tea has anti-proliferative, anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial and chemopreventive effects. In direct support of this notion, it has been demonstrated that a key component of green tea, namely epigallocatechin-3-gallate, behaves as an anti-oxidant and shows anti-tumor effects against breast cancer cells.

Green tea may also interact with other components of the diet, including natural products contained within soy and mushrooms. Consumption of green tea could partially explain why Asian-American women show a decreased risk of developing breast cancer, the researchers add.

The team, which specializes in identifying nontoxic methods of killing cancer stem cells, recently also found that an Earl Grey tea ingredient, bergamot, can kill cancer cells and works as an anti-cholesterol agent.

A tea revival
Matcha is a type of green tea made by taking young tea leaves of the Camellia Sinesis plant and grinding them into a bright green powder. The powder is then whisked with hot water. This is different from regular green tea, where the leaves are infused in water, then removed.

According to Innova Market Insights data, new product launches tracked featuring matcha saw a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31 percent between 2013 and 2017.

The growth of Kombucha evidences matcha green tea's increasing popularity. Kombucha is a fermented, slightly sweetened green or black tea.

Innova Market Insights data notes that rising consumer interest in functional beverages and fermented products has moved out of the specialty sector and into the mainstream. The fermented, lightly effervescent black or green tea drinks contain multiple species of yeast and bacteria along with organic acids, active enzymes, amino acids and polyphenols produced by these microbes. It is positioned as a sustainable, well-being boosting alternative to artificial soft drinks.

Over eight percent of global iced tea launches in the 12 months to the end of June 2017 featured kombucha in a rising range of flavors and formats, up from just over five percent in the 12 months to the end of June 2016 and less than one percent five years previously. Numbers rose nearly 60 percent in the 12 months to the end of June 2017, although still from a relatively small base.

The healthy positioning of green tea and kombuchas is vital for growth. Nearly 96 percent of global launches in the 12 months to the end of June 2017 were positioned on a health platform of some kind, with clean labeling and digestive health key areas of interest.

Digestive health and/or probiotic claims featured on over 56 percent of launches, with probiotic the most popular individual claim after organic, used for 46 percent of introductions.

The future face of nutrition through a collation of prominent start-ups, and in this space, the presence of matcha is substantial, as well as other health benefit packed ingredients such as goji berry, maca and ginseng and spirulina, signaling the pervasive popularity of foods that deliver additional wellness advantages.