MONDAY, Feb. 3, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- The ingredients in white tea boost the immune function of skin cells, helping protect your skin from the damaging effects of the sun that cause aging and cancer.
Researchers at the University Hospitals of Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University applied white tea extract cream to a patch of skin on the subject's buttocks -- an area not ordinarily exposed to much sunlight -- and left another area unprotected.
Both skin areas were exposed to artificial sunlight. The white tea extract cream was then reapplied to the same area previously coated with the cream. Three days later, the researchers did cellular level comparisons of the coated and uncoated areas of skin.
The researchers examined Langerhans cells located in the outer layer of the skin. These Langerhans cells are immune system sentinel cells that detect germs and mutated proteins caused by cancerous cells. Langerhans are sensitive to damage by sunlight.
The researchers found the white tea cream extract protected the Langerhans cells. They also found the cream limited sunlight-caused DNA damage in skin cells.
White tea is the least processed form of tea. It's rarely used in consumer products.
More information
Here's some advice on how to protect your skin from the sun.
