title: Green tea: a novel functional food for the oral health of older adults.
abstract: Functional foods are foods with positive health effects that extend beyond their nutritional value. They affect the function of the body and help in the management of specific health conditions. Green tea, a time-honoured Chinese herb, might be regarded as a functional food because of its inherent anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antimutagenic properties. They are attributed to its reservoir of polyphenols, particularly the catechin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate. Owing to these beneficial actions, this traditional beverage was used in the management of chronic systemic diseases including cancer. Recently, it has been emphasized that the host immuno-inflammatory reactions destroy the oral tissues to a greater extent than the microbial activity alone. Green tea with its wide spectrum of activities could be a healthy alternative for controlling these damaging reactions seen in oral diseases, specifically, chronic periodontitis, dental caries and oral cancer, which are a common occurrence in the elderly population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal University, Manipal, India.
authors.forename: Sumit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gaur
authors.forename: Rupali
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Agnihotri
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D028241:Camellia sinensis; D055951:Functional Food; D006801:Humans; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control; D009909:Oral Health; D013662:Tea
chemical_list: D013662:Tea
keywords: chronic periodontitis; dental caries; functional food; green tea; oral cancer