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Have just been reading about how L-theonine (from green tea) reportedly induces alpha brain waves within 30 minutes of consumption. Might be an aid to folks who have trouble achieving relaxation via other methods (music, meditation, etc)? Note: It does NOT induce theta waves, hence the non-drowsy relaxation effect.
Trends in Food Science & Technology
Volume 10, Issues 6-7, (June 1999)
L-theanine--a unique amino acid of green tea and its relaxation effect in humans, Pages 199-204
Lekh Raj Juneja, Djong-Chi Chu, Tsutomu Okubo, Yukiko Nagato and Hidehiko Yokogoshi
The amino acid, L-theanine, is found almost solely in tea plants (Camellia sinensis). L-theanine acts antagonistically against the effects of caffeine, and it demonstrates relaxation effects without promoting drowsiness. A Japanese company, Taiyo Kagaku, has developed an enzymatic method to manufacture synthetic L-theanine on an industrial scale, and introduced their Suntheanine branded product as a food ingredient into the U.S. market earlier this year.
http://www.healthwellexchange.com/nutritionsciencenews/NSN_backs/Sep_00/nat_news5.cfm
L-theanine has been demonstrated to:
induce relaxation
lower stress
reduce anxiety levels
increase mental acuity, concentration, learning ability and performance
lower blood pressure
Takes effect within 30 minutes after consumption
In Reply to: SR in a pill? posted by vickir on August 07, 2001 at 13:31:28:
Thanks, vickir.
I would like to see any valid research on this. If it is true, I will start it myself.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: SR in a pill? posted by Walt Stoll on August 09, 2001 at 09:19:14:
Darn! I found the complete research article earlier and thought I had saved it out. Can't find it now, but I'm pasting additional derivative info below. It seems to be fairly widely available. I plan to try it myself in a couple of months. In the meantime, I'm back to drinking green tea.
Will post the link to the original research article if I ever find it again.
http://www.taiyokagaku.com/eng/s_together/talks/suntheanine/main.html (the company that sponsored the research)
http://www.nutrasolutions.com/clinicalresearch/theanine01.html
http://www.nutraceuticalsworld.com/may012.htm
According to most in the industry, the discovery of new amino acids is not as prevalent as discovering new or expanded uses for them. However, one company has made progress in heightening the awareness for what is considered to be, in the U.S., a new amino acid. Enter L-theanine, which is an amino acid found almost exclusively in tea plants, constituting 1-2% of the dry weight of tea leaves. It is also the predominant amino acid component in tea and exists only in the free (non-protein) form. Scott Smith, senior manager, Taiyo International, Minneapolis, MN, which manufactures L-theanine (Suntheanine™) through its parent company Taiyo Kagaku, Yokkaichi, Japan, said, “There is a lot of research in amino acids such as L-glutamine and a lot of the others but as far as new amino acids, L theanine is it. It is very new to the U.S. market, having launched in January 2000, but it has been known to exist in tea leaves for over 50 years.”
Most of the research into L-theanine is currently being conducted in the area of stress reduction without drowsiness, according to Mr. Smith. “Green tea is very unique in that it has very high levels of caffeine, even higher than coffee, depending on the variety. But it has also been noted that green tea is very calming,” explained Mr. Smith. “So we started to look at this contradictory situation and our research into L-theanine grew. L-theanine, in small amounts, is an antagonist to caffeine, so even though you are getting the positive effects of caffeine, in terms of staying alert, you are not getting the negative side effects associated with caffeine such as jitters and nausea.” Other areas of research include using L-theanine as an alternative to Ritalin, controlling blood pressure, sharpening mental acuity and concentration. Also, in the area of cancer research L-theanine seems to work synergistically with other cancer drugs.
In Reply to: Re: SR in a pill? posted by vickir on August 10, 2001 at 08:53:20:
Thanks, vickir.
Namaste`
Walt
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