Green tea beverages are showing signs of being able to prevent skin cancer.

Santos K. Katiyar, Ph.D., UAB assistant professor of dermatology, has led a series of animal studies on the preventive effects of certain green tea antioxidant compounds, called polyphenols. One study shows that the compound EGCG, when applied topically, prevents skin cancer.

Another, published this month in Nutrition and Cancer, shows that green tea as a beverage also prevents cancer. The same study identifies green tea’s protective mechanisms, including interfering with a tumor’s growth of new blood vessels and causing death of tumor cells.

In humans, Katiyar said, “Daily consumption of five to six cups of green tea may provide the same level of polyphenols and provide similar protection against UV radiation.”