• The potential role of tea in preventing and reducing cancer
  • Fereshteh Rajabpour,1 Sudabeh Pourfadakari,2,* Fatemeh Zare,3 Fatemeh Sheibani,4 Mahdiyeh Shirkani,5 Mohammad Mehdi Khaleghi,6
    1. Student Research Committee, Bushehr University Of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran
    2. The Persian Gulf Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran
    3. Student Research Committee, Bushehr University Of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran
    4. Student Research Committee, Bushehr University Of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran
    5. Student Research Committee, Bushehr University Of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran
    6. Student Research Committee, Bushehr University Of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran


  • Introduction: In recent years, the number of cancer patients has increased, and it has even become the first cause of death in developed countries. Many studies have been conducted to investigate the effect of various types of tea on various types of cancer, including colon, lung, stomach, esophagus, breast and prostate cancer in humans and animals, in which the protective effect of teas, especially green tea, has been suggested. Tea is made from the Camellia sinensis plant and is the second most popular non-alcoholic beverage in the world. This drink contains more than 450 types of organic compounds, more than 15 types of minerals and essential nutrients. Among these compounds, there are catechins such as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and taflavin (TF) and a variety of natural polyphenols that are responsible for anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects, and their action is through reducing of Wnt/β -catenin and Hh/Gli1 signaling pathways to delay cancer progression. In general, tea is considered as a prophylactic agent that destroys cancer cells and promotes cancer cell apoptosis by improving antioxidant activity, thereby increasing cancer resistance. Therefore, in this review, an attempt has been made to investigate the potential role of tea in preventing and increasing cancer.
  • Methods: In this review study, the required data were collected using keywords such as biosensors, self-powered biosensors and self-powered and citing valid databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed and Scopus. After evaluating the quality of the data, the most relevant articles from 2019 to 2022 were investigated.
  • Results: The evidence obtained from cell, animal, clinical and epidemiological studies showed that tea consumption has benefits such as prevention of cancers, chronic inflammation, heart and liver diseases, diabetes, neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's and bone fractures. In the study conducted by Beynon,Rhona A.,et al which recommended drinking green tea, there was evidence of a reduction in the ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acids to total fatty acids. Green tea consumption is inversely related to the risk of breast cancer, and drinking at least five cups of green tea per week is associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer. Similar research has shown that there is no connection between drinking tea and bladder cancer. In an animal study, it was shown that tea consumption prevents squamous cell skin cancer caused by inorganic arsenic, and the combination of this substance with green tea destroys liver cancer cells by preventing cell proliferation, cell migration and induction apoptosis of cancer . Therefore, tea increases PL3K/AKT signaling and even green tea plays a role in reducing Bcl-2/Bax ratio to regulate apoptosis of infected cells. The results showed that TF, TR present in tea and their compounds do not change the G1 and S phases of the cell cycle, but they can cause significant cell arrest in the G2/M phase. Therefore, the results showed that TF, TR have a significant effect on cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner .
  • Conclusion: According to the studies, the consumption of various types of tea by people has been associated with pathological changes in cancer cells in different stages of their growth, proliferation and metastasis. However, comprehensive research is needed to better understand the effects of each type of tea on people's health.
  • Keywords: Tea, Cancer, Anti-cancer effect, Health