White Tea

White tea is made from immature tea leaves (Camilla Sinensis) that are picked shortly before the buds have fully opened. The name "white tea" derives from the fine silvery-white hairs on the unopened buds of the tea plant, which gives the dried plant a whitish appearance. The beverage itself is not white or colourless but pale yellow. The exact proportion of buds to leaves varies depending on the variety of white tea. For example, White Peony contains one bud for every two leaves, while Silver Needles, the creme de la creme of white teas, is made entirely from downy buds picked within a two day period in early Spring.
See also :

• Green Tea
• Black Tea
• EGCG

Benefits and uses of White Tea are

Like black and green tea, white tea is also derived from Camellia sinensis. Thus, white tea shares many of the same chemical properties and health effects of tea. However, white tea contains the most antioxidants. The particular amount and ratio of the polyphenol compounds found in tea varies widely from one type of white tea to another, frequently overlapping with chemical compositions found in green tea. With the highest antioxidant rating of any tea - and the lowest level of fluoride - white tea offers noteworthy protection against cancer, inflammation, high cholesterol and dental plaque. It's also antifungal, antibacterial and fortifies against the ravages of aging.

• Improved cardiovascular function : Catechins, a group of polyphenol antioxidants found in white tea, have been found to reduce cholesterol, decrease blood pressure, and improve the function of blood vessels, thereby decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
• Antibacterial and antiviral action : White tea has been shown to protect animals from certain pathogenic bacteria, such as Salmonella tryphimurium. A 2004 study at Pace University revealed that white tea extract may help slow viruses and bacterial growth, thus reducing the incidence of staphylococcus and streptococcus infections, pneumonia, fungus growth, and even dental plaque.
• cancer : Findings from another study[specify] conducted at the Skin Study Center at University Hospitals of Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University reveal indicators that white tea helps skin cells by boosting immune systems when exposed to harmful ultra-violet radiation. An article published in the Carcinogenesis journal by scientists from the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University[specify] found that consumption of moderate amounts of white or green tea may hedge against colon tumors consistent with the prescription drug, sulindac. When used in combination with the drug, the results were more effective.
• A study at Kingston University in 2009 showed that white tea has high anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-collagenase, and anti-elastase properties which could potentially reduce the risks of developing rheumatoid arthritis, some cancers, heart disease and slow the enzymatic break-down of elastin and collagen, traits which accompany aging.

References

• Kennelly, E. J., Unachukwu, U. J.; Ahmed, S., Kavalier, A., Lyles, J. T. (2010). "White and green teas (Camellia sinensis var. sinensis): variation in phenolic, methylxanthine, and antioxidant profiles.". Journal of Food Science 75 (6): C541–C548. doi:10.1111/j.1750-3841.2010.01705.x. PMID 20722909.
• Serio, K. J., Mao, J. T.; Nie, W. X., Tsu, I. H., Jin Y. S., Rao, J. Y., Lu, Q. Y., Zhang, Z. F., Go, V. L. (2010). "White tea extract induces apoptosis in non-small cell lung cancer cells: the role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-{gamma} and 15-lipoxygenases.". Cancer Prevention Research 3 (9): 1132–1140. doi:10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-09-0264. PMC 2933291. PMID 20668019.
• Huff, M. W., Mulvihill, E. E. (2010). "Antiatherogenic properties of flavonoids: implications for cardiovascular health..". Canadian Journal of Cardiology 26: 17A–21A. PMID 20386755.
• Dastidar, S. G., Bandyopadhyay, D.; Chatterjee, T. K., Dasgupta, A., Lourduraja, J. (2005). "In vitro and in vivo antimicrobial action of tea: the commonest beverage of Asia.". Biological & Pharmaceutical Bulletin 28 (11): 2125–2127. PMID 16272702.
• Pace University. "New Study Shows That White Tea Has an Inhibitory Effect on Various Pathogenic Bacteria, Fungi and Bacterial Virus". Retrieved 23 July 2012.
• Science Daily. "White Tea Could Keep You Healthy and Lookin Young". Retrieved 12 June 2011.
• Thring, Tamsyn SA; Pauline Hili, Declan P. Naughton (2009). "Anti-collagenase, anti-elastase and anti-oxidant activities of extracts from 21 plants.". BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 9. doi:10.1186/1472-6882-9-27. PMID 19653897.