Anti-stress Effect of Theanine on Students During Long-term Pharmacy Practices

Overview

Long-term practices in a hospital setting and community pharmacy might induce chronic stress in students. Alterations of salivary amylase activity will be measured in students during pharmacy practices as a marker of stress. Theanine is reported to have anti-stress effect on experimental animals under chronic stress and on humans under short-term stress. The purpose of this study is to measure stress symptoms in students during long-term pharmacy practices and to evaluate the efficacy of theanine in suppressing chronic stress, by measuring the salivary amylase activity.

The investigators have found that theanine, an amino acid in green tea, has anti-stress and anti-aging effects using experimental animals. Mice, under chronic psychosocial stress, showed shortened longevity and brain dysfunction. However, when the mice ingested theanine, they showed normal longevity and brain function even though the mice were under psychosocial stress. These data showed that theanine has a significant anti-stress effect on mice. In addition, theanine has been reported to have an anti-stress effect on humans against short-term stress by measuring salivary amylase activity. However, the efficacy of theanine against chronic stress has not been examined. Long-term pharmacy practices might induce chronic stress in students. Based on this background, the investigators designed a randomized study to evaluate the clinical efficacy of theanine ingestion in suppressing chronic stress in students during long-term pharmacy practices.

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Outcomes