Decaffeinated green tea extract (GTE) shows some promise in treating adult women with acne.
In a study published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine,
80 women 25-to-45 years old who had been diagnosed with moderate to severe acne received either three 500 mg. capsules of decaffeinated GTE or placebos daily for four weeks.
The researchers noted that “Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the major polyphenol in green tea, has anti-carcinoegenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial activities” and “these observations led us to led us to hypothesize that EGCG may be beneficial in women with post-adolescent acne.”
The treatment resulted in “significant reductions in the number of lesions on the nose, perioral area, and on the chin between the two groups,” according to the authors. However, there were no significant differences between groups in the number of total lesions.
