A randomized controlled trial of green tea catechins in protection against ultraviolet radiation–induced cutaneous inflammation

Study answer

What this study found

Oral green tea catechins with vitamin C did not meaningfully protect against ultraviolet radiation-induced cutaneous inflammation. After 12 weeks, the primary minimal erythema dose was not significantly different between the active and placebo groups, 28 mJ/cm^2 versus 20 mJ/cm^2, P = 0.47. Erythema dose-response, dermal leukocytic infiltration, CD3+ T lymphocytes, and cutaneous eicosanoid production were also not significantly improved, including PGE2 and 12-HETE measures. The authors concluded that daily supplementation for 12 weeks did not reduce UVR-induced sunburn erythema, leukocyte…

Study & population

This was a randomized controlled trial in healthy white adults with Fitzpatrick skin types I-II.

Intervention

Oral green tea catechins were given as 1,080 mg/day GTC with 100 mg/day vitamin C for 12 weeks.

Key limitation

The trial was small, with only 25 participants in the active arm, which limits power to detect modest effects.

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Original abstract