A Japanese study found that drinking three cups of oolong tea daily relieved the symptoms of atopic dermatitis, a disorder that causes itchy, scaly skin on the insides of the elbows, the backs of the knees and on the face.
Oolong tea has previously been shown to suppress allergic reactions in animals. To investigate whether the tea had any effect on atopic dermatitis, an allergy-induced skin disorder, the researchers instructed 118 patients to prepare and drink one liter of tea daily, divided into three servings to be consumed after meals. Two thirds of patients showed improvement after one month, but some noted improvements after just 1 or 2 weeks of treatment. Six months later, 54% of patients were still responding to the tea, the report indicates.
The authors suggest that polyphenols, compounds in tea that have been shown to combat allergies and lower risk of certain diseases, may be responsible.
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