This Chinese tea may protect you against breast cancer

Consumption of oolong tea could ward off breast cancer risk, finds a new study.

The study, published in the journal Anticancer Research, finds that the Chinese tea, used for centuries for its supposed health benefits, stopped the growth of breast cancer cells. And also, the people who consumed large amounts of this tea have a lower risk of developing breast cancer.

Oolong tea is a traditional Chinese tea made from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. It represents only 2% of the world's tea, but it's well-worth discovering and it combines the qualities of dark and green teas, giving it several interesting health benefits.

Despite recent advances in treatment and screening procedures, breast cancer still remains the most prevalent form of cancer and is the second leading cause of cancer death among women.

In this context, researchers are still in need of more effective prevention and treatment strategies. Moreover, given the side effects of chemotherapy, the need for nontoxic alternatives is also dire.

Green tea has been extensively studied for its anti-cancer effects, however, existing literature on the correlation of other types of tea with breast cancer is very limited.

Also Read: AIIMS study: Green tea can reduce kidney damage caused by anti cancer drug

Chunfa Huang, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Saint Louis University, U.S.A, and colleagues looked at the potential benefits of oolong tea in breast cancer prevention and treatment.

The research team examined the effect of oolong tea extract on six breast cancer cell lines, which included ER-positive, PR-positive, HER2-positive, and triple-negative breast cancer cells. The researchers treated these cells with different concentrations of green, oolong, black, and dark tea extracts.

Huang and team examined the viability of the cells and measured the DNA damage and cleavage, as well as any other changes in the morphology of the cells.

Based on the findings, Huang and team concluded that the extracts of green and oolong tea stopped the growth of all types of breast cancer cell. In contrast, black and dark tea extracts had no effect on the cells.

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