antioxidant - A substance, such as vitamin E, vitamin C, or beta carotene, thought to protect body cells from the damaging effects of oxidation.

 

camilla sinensis - Camellia sinensis is the tea plant, the plant species whose leaves and leaf buds are used to produce tea. White tea, green tea, oolong and black tea are all harvested from this species, but are processed differently to attain different levels of oxidation. The name sinensis means "Chinese" in Latin. Older names for the tea plant include Thea bohea, Thea sinensis and Thea viridis.

 

catechin - Catechins are flavonoids, polyphenols and powerful anti-oxidants. The best source of catechins is white tea, with green tea coming close. Catechins are linked to evidence of fighting tumors as well as enhancing immune system function, due to their polyphenol antioxidant character, which is well established in scavenging reactive oxygen species.

 

epigallocatechin gallate - Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) is an anti-oxidant polyphenol flavonoid isolated from green tea. EGCG as an antioxidant is about 25-100 times more potent than vitamins C and E

 

flavonoid - The term flavonoid refers to a class of plant secondary metabolites based around a phenylbenzopyrone structure. Flavonoids are most commonly known for their antioxidant activity. Flavonoids are also commonly referred to as bioflavonoids in the media – these terms are equivalent and interchangeable, since all flavonoids are biological in origin.

 

free radical - free radical, in chemistry, a molecule or atom that contains an unpaired electron but is neither positively nor negatively charged. Free radicals are usually highly reactive and unstable.

 

ORAC - Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. The test used to determin how well a substance, such as green tea, suppresses radical activity in a controlled setting.  

 

polyphenal - Polyphenols are a group of chemical substances found in plants, characterized by the presence of more than one phenol group per molecule. The polyphenols are responsible for the coloring of some plants—for example, the color of leaves in the autumn. Research indicates that a class of polyphenols has antioxidant characteristics with potential health benefits. These polyphenol antioxidants may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.