White tea is a lightly fermented tea category, mainly produced in Fuding, Zhenghe, Jianyang, Songxi, and other counties in Fujian Province. The processing of white tea involves only two steps: withering and drying. This unique processing method, compared to other tea categories, preserves a large amount of flavor and nutritional components from the fresh tea leaves, such as tea polyphenols, theanine, flavonoids, caffeine, and soluble sugars. It also contains aroma components like linalool oxides I and II, linalool, phenethyl alcohol, and geraniol. Moreover, the changes in its composition are the least among the six major tea categories. Numerous studies to date have shown that white tea is beneficial to human health.
Unique Antibacterial and Anti-inflammatory Effects
White tea can improve the microbial flora in the human digestive tract, provide good efficacy against diarrhea caused by dysentery bacillus, E. coli, staphylococcus, other bacteria, or viruses, and enhance resistance to intestinal diseases. It is beneficial for detoxification, excretion, and alleviating edema; it can improve allergic skin conditions. White tea inhibits and eliminates pathogenic bacteria by coagulating bacterial proteins, possessing a strong ability to suppress bacterial and viral activity. Results from in vitro and in vivo experiments on white tea extract against the hepatitis B virus show that it has anti-hepatitis B virus effects in vivo. In Fujian, there are also folk remedies that use white tea applied to wounds and bedsores.
Delaying Skin Aging and Skincare Beauty Effects
Oxidation in the body can lead to chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, inflammation, and Alzheimer's. Oxidative stress in skin cells (referring to high concentrations of reactive oxygen species (AOS), such as superoxide radicals, hydroxyl radicals, and hydrogen peroxide, which can oxidatively damage biological molecules like lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids, disrupting cellular metabolism.) can cause immune system damage, further promoting pigmentation, wrinkles, and skin cancer. The skin is the body's surface tissue, with surface keratin serving to protect the skin and defend against external侵害. Skin moisture retention is an important factor for healthy skin appearance; lack of water can cause skin dryness and wrinkle formation.
In recent years, scientists have discovered that white tea has effects in preventing skin cell aging and oxidation.
First, white tea contains higher levels of polyphenols than other tea categories, especially the highly biologically active epigallocatechin gallate. Tea leaves contain polyphenolic compounds that have antioxidant effects. Additionally, the content of flavonoids with antioxidant activity in white tea is 14.2 to 21.4 times that of other tea categories. Therefore, white tea and its extracts can serve as antioxidants to provide anti-aging effects. The antioxidant effect of white tea is even stronger than common antioxidants like malt juice, noni juice, and fermented papaya.
Second, as age increases, hyaluronic acid in the skin is degraded by hyaluronidase, causing the skin to harden and form wrinkles. Tea polyphenols contain a large number of hydroxyl groups, making them good moisturizers that can inhibit the activity of hyaluronidase and provide a moisturizing effect.
Third, the flavanols in tea polyphenols have high absorption peaks at wavelengths of 200-300 nm, earning them the reputation of "ultraviolet filters." They can reduce skin melanin formation caused by ultraviolet rays, protecting the skin from damage.
Fourth, amino acids and proteins in tea are nutrients for the skin; various vitamins, trace elements, and aromatic oils in tea can also promote skin metabolism and collagen renewal.
Therefore, tea cosmetics have excellent skincare effects and possess certain sun protection functions, preventing skin aging and chapping. They can make the skin smooth, delicate, fair, tender, and plump, which is why tea is known as a natural beauty and anti-aging beverage. Additionally, white tea extract is a natural substance that efficiently inhibits fat generation and promotes fat decomposition, serving a slimming and fat-reducing purpose.
Refreshing and Relieving Fatigue, Enhancing Elasticity of Cardiovascular Walls
Medical experiments have found that the caffeine content in white tea is higher than that in green tea. Caffeine and theanine can stimulate the cerebral cortex and accelerate signal transduction in nerve cells, promoting concentration of thinking, thereby making mental reactions sharper and enhancing memory. The characteristic quality of white tea is being covered with white pekoe, which contains a large amount of caffeine and theanine, providing noticeable refreshing and fatigue-relieving effects. It can relax vascular smooth muscle, increase the effective diameter of blood vessels, and enhance the elasticity of cardiovascular walls and promote blood circulation. Furthermore, caffeine also has obvious diuretic effects and stimulates gastric juice secretion.
Promoting Saliva Production and Clearing Heat
Aged white tea can be used as a fever reducer for children with measles, and its fever-reducing effect is better than antibiotics. In North China and Fujian production areas, it is widely regarded as a good medicine for treating and caring for measles patients. Its nature is cold, and its efficacy is similar to rhinoceros horn; ancient people called it a sacred medicine for treating measles.
Potential Benefits for Diabetes Treatment
White tea contains tea polysaccharides, which have physiological functions such as anti-radiation, lowering blood sugar, anti-coagulation, and lowering blood pressure. Tea polysaccharides can repair metabolic disorders. Combined with the inhibitory effects of ester-type catechins and theaflavins on amylase and sucrase, as well as the role of tea polyphenols and vitamin C in maintaining the normal toughness and permeability of human microvessels, it can be beneficial for diabetes treatment.
Enhancing Immune Function and Reducing Respiratory System Diseases
In recent years, China's air quality issues have been numerous. The large amount of organic gases and suspended particles can irritate the respiratory system and cause eye discomfort; at high concentrations, they can trigger heart disease and respiratory diseases. Therefore, drinking more white tea can reduce respiratory system diseases, lessen the damage caused by harmful substances in the air to the human body, and protect overall health.
Tu Youying, Ph.D., Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the Tea Science Department of Zhejiang University, mainly engages in research on tea biochemistry, tea functional components, and health.