Black, oolong, green, and white tea all come from the Camellia sinensis tea plant, yet they are not the same, and the difference begins the moment the teas are picked.

White tea begins its journey to your tea cup when the plant sports a greater proportion of buds to leaves. These buds are covered with whitish hairs, which is where the tea gets its name. Once the white tea buds and young leaves are picked, they are steamed and dried rapidly, just enough to stop oxidation (oxidation occurs in different levels in green and black teas, giving them their respective color and flavor).

The result is a tea that is barely processed, which allows it to hold onto high concentrations of the potent polyphenols called catechins. All other teas undergo more processing than white tea, which reduces their level of catechins (e.g., epicatechin, epigallocatechin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate [EGCG]), those potent antioxidants for which white and green tea are well known.

Many claims have been made about the health virtues of white tea, but some of them lack scientific evidence to support them. One reason for the scarcity of information is that more studies have been conducted using the more readily available green and black teas. White tea is also more costly than its cousins.

Advocates of white tea say it can lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol levels, help with weight loss, fight viruses and bacteria, support healthy gums, build strong bones, and fight cancer. There are some studies to support several of these claims, and here are a few of them.

White Tea and Cancer

At the 219th national meeting of the American Chemical Society about a decade ago, researchers from Oregon State University conducted an analysis and reported that white tea had more catechins than other teas. (Santana-Rios 2001) Armed with that information, they decided to test the cancer-fighting abilities of white tea using the Salmonella test, which identifies whether a substance can cause or prevent mutations in DNA, which is an early step in cancer. They discovered that white tea inhibited mutations more effectively than did green tea. The scientists attributed this superior result to the higher proportion of catechins in white tea than in green.

In another study, researchers at Ohio University Southern looked at the impact of white tea, green tea, and caffeine in a colon cancer model and found that white tea helped inhibit proliferation of early lesions in the colon. (Carter 2007)

Tea and Bone Health

The case for white tea in support of bone health is a bit less direct, but if you extrapolate the study results for green tea, which has a lower concentration of polyphenols than white tea, the connection seems clear.

A recent Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center study explored the impact of green tea polyphenols on bone in rats. (Shen 2010) The researchers found that supplementation improved bone integrity by suppressing bone erosion and modulating the bone matrix, which resulted in a larger net bone volume.

Dozens of studies have explored the relationship between catechins (especially EGCG) and bone health, using animal models. The studies typically use green tea rather than white, but again, the leap is not hard to make. One of the most recent comes from the University of Tsukuba, where scientists examined the effect of EGCG on bone cells and found that the catechins reduced osteoclast formation (bone cells that remove bone tissue), thus suppressing bone resorption. The researchers concluded that EGCG “can be used as an effective medicine in the treatment of the symptoms of osteoporosis.” (Kamon 2009)

When shopping for white tea, choose loose-leaf, which is superior in flavor and quality than bagged teas. Brew 2 teaspoons of loose-leaf tea per 8-ounce cup of very hot, but not boiling, water. For average strength, steep for 3 to 5 minutes; if you like a stronger tea, go a few minutes longer. White tea contains somewhat less caffeine than other teas: approximately 15 mg per serving compared with 40 mg for black tea and 20 mg for green. Unlike the slightly grassy taste of green tea, white tea is lighter and sweeter.

Posted by Mr. JoMo

References

Carter O, Dashwood RH, Wang R, Dashwood WM, Orner GA, et al. Comparison of white tea, green tea, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, and caffeine as inhibitors of PhlP-induced colonic aberrant crypts. Nutr Cancer 2007; 58(1): 60-65

Kamon M, Zhao R, Salamoto K. Green tea polyphenol (-)-epigallocatechin gallate suppressed the differentiation of murine osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells. Cell Biol Int 2009 Dec 16; 34(1): 109-16

Santana-Rios G, Orner GA, Amantana A, Provost C, Wu SY, Dashwood RH. Potent antimutagenic activity of white tea in comparison with green tea in the Salmonella assay. Mutat Res 2001 Aug 22; 495(1-2): 61-74

Shen CL, Yeh JK, Samathanam C, Cao JJ, et al. Green tea polyphenols attenuate deterioration of bone microarchitecture in female rats with systemic chronic inflammation. Osteoporos Int 2010 Mar 20