The Effect of White Tea in Healthy Human Subjects

Overview

This clinical study aims to determine the effects of consuming white tea infusion (Camellia sinensis) on healthy subjects over a period of 14 days. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Determine the effect of white tea consumption on the anthropometry of healthy subjects. 2. Determine the effect of white tea consumption on the biochemical parameters of healthy subjects. 3. Determine the effect of white tea consumption on hematology parameters that are related to anemia case in healthy subjects. 4. Determine the effect of white tea consumption on the activity of first-line antioxidant enzymes in healthy subjects Researchers used only one treatment group, and respondents knew which treatment they would receive (single-arm and open-labelled), namely white tea infusion to maintain human body health. Participants will: 1. Follow the washout stage for 7 days 2. Drink white tea infusion every day for 14 days. 3. Follow up to monitor adverse effects after consuming white tea; this stage will be conducted for 7 days. 4. Report all food and beverages consumed by respondents during the study.

Unhealthy lifestyles, including alcohol consumption, illegal drug use, radiation exposure, and the preparation of food (e.g. smoked meat, used oil, and fat) and polluted environments (water and air pollution) are triggering an increase in cases of degenerative diseases worldwide, including ischaemic heart disease, diabetes, cancer, atherosclerosis, liver disease, kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and others. The body's natural defences can decline at any time due to the development of reactive oxygen species (ROS) caused by unhealthy lifestyle factors and environmental pollution. Exogenous antioxidants are important for maintaining the body's defence system against excessive ROS. This study will examine the potential of compounds in white tea infusion in maintaining human health by monitoring several parameters, including anthropometric, biochemical, haematological, and antioxidant enzyme activity. The anthropometric parameters tested include body weight, height, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure. Biochemical parameters include lipid profile (total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and triglycerides), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), serum creatinine levels, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and urea nitrogen levels. The haematological parameters used are directly related to the indication of anaemia, including red blood cell count, haemoglobin, haematocrit, mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), and mean corpuscular volume (MCV). Finally, there are the first-line antioxidant enzyme activity parameters, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). This examination was conducted before and after the 14-day white tea infusion treatment to observe the effects of the treatment. Male and female healthy volunteers were instructed to follow three stages of research, including: 1. Washout phase : respondents are advised to avoid products with high polyphenol content such as turmeric, ginger, galangal, grapes, apples, oranges, coffee, other types of tea, and chocolate, either directly or in processed products. 2. Treatment phase: respondents continue to avoid the products avoided during the washout process. In this phase, respondents will consume white tea infusion (4 grams of WT in 200 mL of freshly boiled water) every day for 14 days. 3. Observational phase: the phase is conducted for 7 days to monitor the presence or absence of side effects after 14 days of consuming white tea infusion.