Matcha tea and health: what studies in people and animals show
What it found
In people, matcha reduced stress and slightly improved attention and memory, but did not affect mood.
Heart and metabolic benefits have only been seen in animals, and anti-cancer evidence comes only from cells.
What they found
Studies in people
Cognitive function in people
Randomized trials found that matcha decreased stress and slightly enhanced attention and memory, but had no effect on mood. Results were contradictory, and the authors say more trials are needed.
Stress and anxiety in people
One trial found that drinking 3 g of matcha daily for 15 days significantly decreased anxiety and lowered physiological stress compared to placebo. Another trial found that matcha reduced reaction time and increased hits in an emotion perception test, indicating enhanced cognitive function.
Animal and lab studies
Heart and metabolic effects in animals
In mice on a high-fat diet, matcha slowed weight gain, improved blood glucose and lipid profile, reduced inflammatory cytokines, and lowered oxidative stress. These effects have only been studied in animals, not in people.
Anti-tumor effects in cells
Lab studies on breast cancer cells found that matcha can affect proliferation, viability, antioxidant response, and cell cycle regulation. The authors say more studies are needed on other cancer cells and in animals.
Other findings
Quality of commercial matcha
A study found that out of 76 matcha products bought in Japan, 50 contained levels of theanine expected to have a stress-reducing effect, while only 6 of those purchased internationally exceeded that limit. This variation means studies should confirm the chemical composition of the matcha used.
What the authors conclude
“Overall, the evidence regarding the effect of matcha tea on cognitive function, cardio-metabolic function, and anti-tumor role is still limited, and conclusions cannot be drawn.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say that the evidence on matcha tea's effect on cognitive function, heart and metabolic health, and anti-tumor role is still limited, and conclusions cannot be drawn.
- They call for more randomized controlled trials in humans to confirm the heart and metabolic effects seen in animals.
- They advise that more research is needed to examine the anti-tumor effect on different types of cancer cells and to verify it using animal models.
How it was done
Matcha tea has been gaining global popularity, and the authors wanted to review the evidence for its effects on cognitive function, heart and metabolic health, and cancer.
They reviewed human trials, animal studies, and lab studies on matcha tea. Human trials included a few dozen to a few dozen participants, lasting from a single dose up to 12 weeks. Animal studies lasted from 4 to 6 weeks.
What it can’t tell you
- The heart and metabolic effects have only been studied in animals, so they cannot show what happens in people.
- The anti-tumor evidence comes only from cells in lab tests, so it cannot show whether matcha affects cancer in people.
- The human trials were small and had mixed results, so they cannot provide a clear answer on cognitive effects.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
- Authors work at
- Qatar University, Qatar
The paper
- Title
- The therapeutic potential of matcha tea: A critical review on human and animal studies
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Sokary S, Al-Asmakh M, Zakaria Z, Bawadi H (2023). The therapeutic potential of matcha tea: A critical review on human and animal studies. Current research in food science. doi:10.1016/j.crfs.2022.11.015Free full textPubMed 36582446DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error