"Tea is nothing other than this: Heat the water, prepare the tea and drink it with propriety. That is all you need to know."
- Sen Rikyu, 16th Century Oriental Tea Master

Green tea may someday help treat Parkinson's disease.

Researchers in China observed the antioxidant effects of green tea polyphenols in rats. They found the polyphenols protect brain cells.

Parkinson's disease is a result of the loss of brain cells that produce dopamine. The study finds green tea polyphenols protect dopamine neurons and higher doses protect even more.

Researchers hope green tea polyphenols will eventually be developed into a safe drug that's easy to give patients of Parkinson's Disease.

The popularity of green tea has created a lot of interest in its health benefits. The editor of Biological Psychiatry, John H. Krystal, M.D., Yale University School of Medicine and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System agrees that "if green tea consumption can be shown to have meaningful neuroprotective actions in patients, this would be an extremely important advance."