Therapeutic Potential of Matcha: Review of Human and Animal Studies

The scientific paper The Therapeutic Potential of Matcha Tea: A Critical Review on Human and Animal Studies by Sokary et al. explores the growing interest in matcha tea as a functional food with possible health benefits. Matcha, a powdered form of Japanese green tea, is rich in bioactive compounds like catechins, theanine, and caffeine, which have been linked to enhanced cognitive performance, improved metabolic health, and anti-cancer effects. The review critically examines existing research from both human clinical trials and animal models to assess the strength of evidence supporting these claims. Given the increasing global popularity of matcha, the authors aim to clarify its therapeutic potential and highlight areas where further scientific investigation is needed.

Matcha is a type of green tea that comes in a fine powder form. It’s made from young tea leaves grown in the shade, which boosts their nutritional value. Unlike regular green tea, where you steep the leaves and remove them, matcha involves consuming the whole leaf. This makes it more concentrated in natural compounds like catechins, caffeine, and theanine.

These substances have drawn attention because they may help with things like memory, heart health, and even protecting the body from certain types of cancer. The study states, “Matcha tea has various health benefits, including an enhancing effect on cognitive function, cardio-metabolic health, and anti-tumorogenesis.”

However, despite this growing interest, many current studies are limited, and not all results agree with one another. That’s why researchers carefully review human and animal studies to see what matcha can do.

The scientific paper is a critical review of both human and animal studies that looked at matcha’s health benefits. It includes findings from:

• Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in people
• In vivo studies (in living animals)
• In vitro studies (in lab-grown cells, particularly cancer cells)

The researchers focused on three main areas: cognitive function, cardio-metabolic health, and anti-tumor effects. They analyzed how different doses and forms of matcha influenced these outcomes, as well as how matcha’s natural compounds may be working inside the body.

Several human and animal studies explored how matcha may affect the brain, especially with memory, focus, and stress.

In human trials:

• A 2021 RCT found that daily matcha intake helped people handle stress better. It “maintained attentional function following mild acute psychological stress,” although it didn’t affect fatigue or energy levels.
• Another RCT by Sakurai et al. (2020) tested matcha in older adults. While overall cognitive scores didn’t improve, women showed better results in the language part of a cognitive test.
• A Dutch study (Dietz et al., 2017) looked at short-term effects, giving people matcha and testing them within an hour. The results showed only slight improvements in attention and memory, and no impact on mood.

Animal studies gave clearer results:

• Mice fed matcha showed reduced stress hormone levels, better blood flow in the brain, and even less fat buildup when on a high-fat diet.
• One study found that matcha protected against brain aging by preserving tiny blood vessels in the cortex, an important part of the brain.
• Another showed that matcha helped improve learning, memory, and movement in mice with insulin resistance in the brain.

The paper says, “Matcha had a significant protective effect on cognitive function in terms of memory, long-term learning, and spatial learning.”

Studies on animals showed that matcha might help manage blood sugar, cholesterol, and weight gain, especially in those eating high-fat diets.

Key results included:

1. Lower weight gain and less fat accumulation, especially in areas like the liver and around organs.
2. Better blood sugar control and improved cholesterol levels, including reductions in LDL (bad cholesterol) and triglycerides.
3. Reduced inflammation, with lower levels of harmful chemicals like IL-6 and TNF-α in the blood.
4. Boosted antioxidant activity, helping the body fight off stress caused by high-fat foods.

One study even found that the fiber-rich residue of matcha (the part that doesn’t dissolve in water) gave similar health benefits to the full powder. This shows how vital the whole-leaf form is when using matcha.

The authors noted, “Moderate to high levels of matcha...resulted in a statistically significant reduction of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL levels.”

However, since all of these were animal studies, more human trials are needed to confirm if these effects apply to people, too.

Matcha’s potential to fight cancer has only been studied in labs so far, using breast cancer cell lines . Three key in vitro studies showed that matcha could:

• Slow down the growth and spread of cancer cells.
• Interfere with cell energy pathways , such as mTOR signaling and mitochondrial metabolism.
• Influence cancer-related proteins , such as PPARγ, which is linked to tumor suppression.

In one study, matcha extract was just as effective as isolated compounds like EGCG and quercetin in reducing cell growth. The paper says, “Matcha affected key pathways in the MCF7 breast cancer cells, including the antioxidant response, cell cycle regulation, as well as interleukin signaling.”

Despite these findings, the authors emphasized that no animal or human studies have confirmed these effects. More research is needed, especially to see if matcha has similar effects on other types of cancer.

Although the science behind matcha is exciting, the current evidence has limitations. For example:

• Human studies on cognition are few, small in size, and mostly done in Japan, where green tea is already part of the diet.
• All cardio-metabolic findings come from animal models, not people.
• Anti-cancer research is still in the early stages, with no studies on actual tumors in living bodies.

Another concern is matcha quality. The paper notes that “only 6” of the matcha products bought outside Japan had enough theanine to provide stress-reducing effects, compared to “50” in Japanese samples. This suggests that not all matcha sold globally delivers the same benefits.

This scientific review shows that matcha tea has real potential to support brain health, improve metabolic balance, and even slow cancer cell growth, at least in lab settings. Its effects are powered by naturally occurring compounds like EGCG, theanine, and caffeine, which work together to protect the brain, regulate blood sugar and fat, and influence cell health.

Still, most of these results come from small human trials or animal and lab-based studies. While matcha might be a helpful addition to a healthy lifestyle, we can’t yet say for sure how strong or long-lasting its effects are in people. As the study says, “Conclusions cannot be drawn” based on current data.

More large-scale human studies are needed to truly understand how drinking matcha affects the body over time. Until then, matcha remains a promising but not fully proven option in the world of functional foods.