Matcha and cognitive function in elderly people
What it found
In a 12-week trial in people aged 60 to 84, matcha did not change thinking or memory scores overall.
In women, language scores improved more with matcha than with placebo.
What they found
Studies in people
Overall cognitive scores
In the whole group, there were no significant changes in cognitive test scores (MoCA and MMSE) between the matcha and placebo groups.
Memory and impulsivity
No significant changes were seen in memory test scores (WMS-DR) or impulsivity scores (BIS-11) between the matcha and placebo groups.
Women's language scores
In women, the matcha group improved more on the MoCA language domain than the placebo group. The MoCA score change was 1.95 points with matcha and 0.15 points with placebo.
Men's cognitive scores
In men, there were no significant changes in cognitive, memory or impulsivity scores between the matcha and placebo groups.
Vitamin K intake
In women, higher vitamin K intake from daily diet (not counting the test drinks) was linked to a smaller increase in MoCA score. The authors suggest matcha may help most in people with lower vitamin K intake.
What the authors conclude
“Our results suggest that daily supplementation of Matcha green tea powder may have a beneficial effect against cognitive decline in clinically normal elderly women.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that daily matcha green tea powder may have a beneficial effect against cognitive decline in clinically normal elderly women.
- They say that no significant effect was shown in the total group, but a significant effect on cognitive changes, especially in the language domain, was shown in female subjects.
- They note that they could not determine which compound in matcha is most fundamental for enhancing cognition, but suggest vitamin K as a possible candidate.
How it was done
The authors wanted to see whether daily matcha could help protect thinking and memory in older people, since dementia risk rises with age and no drug is established to prevent it.
They recruited 61 people over 60 without dementia or mild cognitive impairment and randomly assigned them to a matcha drink (3 g powder per day) or a placebo drink for 12 weeks. 54 people completed all tests. Thinking, memory and impulsivity were measured before and after.
What it can’t tell you
- The study was small, especially for men, so it may not have been able to detect differences in cognitive scores.
- The results are from a 12-week trial and cannot show whether matcha affects long-term cognitive decline or dementia risk.
- The study cannot show which specific compound in matcha might be responsible for any effects.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflict of interest.
- Authors work at
- The University of Tokyo, Japan; Community Health Promotion Laboratory, Japan; Urban Design Center Kashiwanoha (UDCK), Japan
The paper
- Title
- Effects of Matcha Green Tea Powder on Cognitive Functions of Community-Dwelling Elderly Individuals
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Sakurai K, Shen C, Ezaki Y, et al (2020). Effects of Matcha Green Tea Powder on Cognitive Functions of Community-Dwelling Elderly Individuals. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu12123639Free full textPubMed 33256220DOI
Summary written 29 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error