Green tea may provide a new treatment for inflammatory skin conditions such as psoriasis, researchers have said.
A new study by experts at the Medical College of Georgia in the US has discovered that green tea helped to delay the growth of skin cells in rodents which were engineered to be genetically prone to psoriasis.
The researchers have proposed that green tea may act by regulating the expression of a protein called Caspase-14, which is involved in determining the life cycle of skin cells.
Commenting on the findings, which are published in the journal Experimental Dermatology, lead investigator Dr Stephen Hsu, who is an oral biologist at the college's school of dentistry, said: "Psoriasis, an autoimmune disease, causes the skin to become thicker because the growth of skin cells is out of control.
"In psoriasis, immune cells, which usually protect against infection, instead trigger the release of cytokines, which causes inflammation and the overproduction of skin cells."
Green tea may provide a new treatment for inflammatory skin conditions such as psoriasis, researchers have said.
