SAKA, Sept. 7 Kyodo

Oolong tea can slow the aging process if consumed over a long period of time, Suntory Ltd. said Friday.

The Osaka-based whisky maker said it conducted an animal test together with domestic and foreign research institutes, including Tokushima University medical department and the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, an affiliate of the U.S. Agriculture Department.

The test used 90 six-month-old mice with life spans of about 12 months, half that of ordinary mice. The mice were divided equally into three groups of 15 male and 15 female each. For 16 weeks, one group freely drank water, another green tea and the last oolong tea.

While male mice showed signs of aging, such as hair loss, lines around the eyes and slowed movement, at the end of the test, the aging process was slower for those in the oolong tea group than the other groups, Suntory said.

But noticeable differences in the graying process were unconfirmed among female mice. This was apparently because female mice age more slowly than male mice and so showed few changes during the test, a Suntory researcher said.

COPYRIGHT 2001 Kyodo News International, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group

Bibliography for "Oolong tea slows aging process: Suntory"
"Oolong tea slows aging process: Suntory". Asian Political News. Sept 10, 2001. FindArticles.com. 09 Aug. 2007. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0WDQ/is_2001_Sept_10/ai_79021337