Indian scientists have undertaken a study on a group of guinea pigs. The animals spent a week of adaptation period on a polyphenol free diet. Then they were divided into three groups of 6 guinea pigs each. The first group was given water for two weeks, the second group — Assam black tea, and the third — Darjeeling black tea. Tea was prepared in a cunning scientific way: half a gram of tea per 10 ml of water brewed for 5 min with continuous stirring. Guinea pigs were given 20 ml of freshly brewed tea per kilogram of weight, twice a day with a four-hour interval between the intakes.
Two weeks later, the scientists examined all possible tissues of guinea pigs and found that in the tissues of the guinea pigs that were given Darjeeling, there were approximately twice as much catechins as in the tissues of the Assam-drinking guinea pigs. While, there were more theaflavins in the tissues of the Assam-drinking animals. Given the lesser degree of fermentation of Darjeeling tea, there is nothing surprising in the results, but it’s nice, of course, to have it in figures.