STANFORD, Calif.—Taking green tea supplements showed no benefit on photoaging skin damage compared to placebo in a recent study at Stanford University (Dermatol Surg.2009;35(7):1057-65).
In a double blind, placebo-controlled trial, 56 women, aged 25 to 75 received either 250 mg of green tea polyphenols or placebo twice daily for two years. The women who took the green tea supplement had significant improvement at six months, but the effects did not last throughout the study. At six months, the women who took the supplements experienced an improvement in overall solar damage (P=0.02), and at 12 months, experienced a significant improvement in erythema (redness of the skin) and telangiectasias (blood vessels at the surface of the skin) (P=0.02). The placebo group did not have significant improvements in these parameters at six months or 12 months.
However, no statistically significant differences in other photoaging parameters were found at six, 12 or 24 months in either group.