Effects of green tea supplementation on antioxidant status and inflammatory markers in adults: a grade-assessed systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
PubMed 40160899 · doi:10.1017/jns.2025.13
What was done
A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection, and Google Scholar from inception through February 2024. The authors evaluated the effects of green tea supplementation on inflammatory markers (CRP, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β) and oxidative status markers (TAC, MDA, SOD, GPX) in adults, conducting linear, non-linear, and subgroup analyses.
What was found
From 1,264 records retrieved, 38 RCTs were included. Green tea supplementation significantly improved: IL-1β (weighted mean difference [WMD]: -0.10 pg/mL; 95% CI: -0.15, -0.06), MDA (WMD: -0.40 mcmol/L; 95% CI: -0.63, -0.18), TAC (WMD: 0.09 mmol/L; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.13), SOD (WMD: 17.21 u/L; 95% CI: 3.24, 31.19), and GPX (WMD: 3.90 u/L; 95% CI: 1.85, 5.95). It showed no statistically significant effect on CRP (WMD: 0.01 mg/L; 95% CI: -0.14, 0.15), IL-6 (WMD: -0.34 pg/mL; 95% CI: -0.94, 0.26), or TNF-α (WMD: -0.07 pg/mL; 95% CI: -0.42, 0.28).
Why it matters
This review demonstrates that green tea supplementation consistently improves antioxidant defenses and reduces lipid peroxidation in adults, but broad systemic anti-inflammatory benefits were limited to IL-1β rather than general markers like CRP or TNF-α.
Limits
Total participant sample size across the 38 trials is not reported in the abstract. Details regarding green tea dosage, formulation, duration, participant health characteristics, and specific GRADE certainty ratings per outcome are absent from the abstract.
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