Camellia sinensis (Green tea) : medicinal properties in alcoholic extraction

Camellia sinensis (Green tea) — family Théacées.

Recognised external sources linked to this monograph: French Pharmacopoeia.

This database documents alcoholic (ethanol) extractions of active substances. Our monograph currently lists 25 indications in alcoholic extraction for this species. The monograph draws on 120 scientific references recorded for the species.

Therapeutic indications in alcoholic extraction:

Note: scientific reference excerpts are kept in their original language (most often English), without translation, to respect the source text of publications.

1. Cancer : Plant part used: Sheet. Documented pharmacological profile: Cisplatine-like.
   According to Ravindranath MH (2008): This investigation validates the hypothesis that anticancer action of the various catechins may vary with the type of malignancy and provides a model for tumor cell heterogeneity based on susceptibility & resistance of tumor cells to different green tea catechins. These catechins have been documented to have no growth suppressive or apoptotic effects on normal melanocytes (Nihal et al., Int J Cancer 2005; 114:513-21). According to Ahmad N (1998): The polyphenolic compounds present in green tea show cancer chemopreventive effects in many animal tumor models.
2. Bacterial infection : Plant part used: Sheet.
   According to Thakur P (2013): The present study was conducted to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of aquo-ethanolic (1:1) extract of leaves of Camellia sinensis against Carbapenem Resistant E coli at preclinical level using peritonitis infection model in Sprague Dawley rats. The prevalence of Carbapenem Resistant Escherichia coli (CRE) has increased considerably during the last décade, which can be ascribed to relative scarcity of effective non toxic antimicrobial agents. According to EMERA MS (2025): coli isolates showed absolute resistance to cefotaxime followed by erythromycin (92%) & colistin (88%).
3. Dental caries : Plant part used: Sheet. Documented pharmacological profile: Chlorhexidine-like.
   According to Anita P (2015): The ethanolic extract was used for assessment of antimicrobial properties. Ethanolic green tea extract at ten different concentrations & 0.2% chlorhexidine was used. According to Chaudhary P (2023): The results of the analysed studies showed that the main polyphenols of tea are the four prime flavonoids catechins: epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epicatechin gallate (ECG), epigallocatechin (EGC), & epicatechin (EC) along with the beneficial biological properties of tea for a broad heterogeneity of disorders, including anticancer, neuroprotective, antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antiobesity, antidiabetes & antiglaucoma activities.

Further indications (including other extraction modes where applicable), dosages, precautions for use and full scientific references are available in the complete monograph.

Photo credit : Photo by Maksym Malygin without modification (CC BY-SA 4.0). License : CC BY-SA 4.0.