Health benefits of Tea

Darjeeling/Siliguri: A cuppa a day keeps the doctor away.

At least that is what National Tea Research Foundation (NTRF) seems to believe. And to further substantiate that tea is a health drink that may even help reduce the risk of diseases like cancer, the NTRF has outsourced various projects to a number of leading institutes in the country.

“The ingredients of tea include polyphenols, like thearubigins and theaflavins, that may have antioxidant characteristics with potential health benefits. So it is imperative to conduct research and ascertain whether these can help in recuperating from diseases like cancer,” Monojit Dasgupta, secretary general of the Indian Tea Association, said here today.

Dasgupta, who was here to attend the 30th annual general meeting of the Siliguri Tea Auction Committee, said: “The NTRF has assigned several eminent institutes throughout the country to work on this subject.” The list includes the Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research & Education in Cancer, Mumbai, the Industrial Toxicology Research Centre, Lucknow, the department of environmental carcinogenesis of Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Calcutta, the department of physiology and zoology, S.N. Pradhan Centre for Neurosciences, and Dr B.C. Guha Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology.

Tea Board officials who were present in today’s meeting also confirmed that the NTRF was trying to ascertain the role of tea and its potential health benefits through a number of ongoing research projects. These include:

As a chemo-preventive agent on carcinogen

As an anti-oxidant for treatment of prostrate cancer

As an antidote to cancer resulting from smoking

As a preventive to lung cancer

The NTRF has also assigned institutes to work on other health issues like assessment of anti-stress and anti-ageing mechanisms of black tea, the effects of Black Assam and Black China tea on oral pathology, and the effect of tea extracts on tumour cells, sources said.

“Such research would definitely help increase domestic tea consumption once the results come to us. A campaign highlighting the results and advocating the benefits of drinking tea would then be started,” said H.N. Dwivedi, controller of licensing, Tea Board.

About promotion, Rupali Dutta, the deputy director (tea promotion) of the board, said advertisements on “iced tea” would be brought out just before summer. “These ads will target the youth,” Dutta said. “To boost our exports, we are exploring new markets and have decided to participate in 19 international events in different countries during the next financial year.”

At the annual general meeting, issues like instant auction sale, introduction of electronic auction system and ex-estate sale were discussed. “As both the buyers and sellers are interested in instant auction sale, we are thinking of introducing the system in Siliguri in another month,” Dwivedi said.

“For the electronic auction system, we have already shortlisted vendors who would supply equipment and software to us. The final selection will be done by mid-April, and e-auctions will commence by the end of that month,” he added.

Source: The Telegraph