Assessing the effects of a short-term green tea intervention in skin microvascular function and oxygen tension in older and younger adults

• We examined the effect of a 2-week green tea intervention on microvascular function.
• Two different age groups were studied (ages 18–35 and 55–75).
• Laser Doppler Flowmetry was used to assess cutaneous microvascular function.
• Transcutaneous Oxygen Pressure was used to assess skin oxygen tension.
• Systolic blood pressure, tissue oxygen production and cutaneous microcirculation were improved significantly in both groups.

Green tea consumption has been associated with a reduction in cardiovascular disease risk factors. However, there is little evidence examining its potential differing effect between younger and older populations, whilst little is known on its effect on the circulatory system when oxygen demand is higher.Therefore the aim of this study was to evaluate the short-term effects of green tea consumption on microvascular functioning in both an older and younger population.Fifteen young [24 (4.0)] and fifteen older [61 (4.0)] participants, consumed two cups of green tea daily for 14 days. We used Laser Doppler Flowmetry (LDF) to assess cutaneous microvascular function and Transcutaneous Oxygen monitoring (TcPO2) to assess skin oxygen tension. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure were also assessed on both visits.We observed significant improvements in axon-mediated microvascular vasodilation for the younger group [1.6 (0.59) vs 2.05 (0.72), p < 0.05] and the older group [1.25 (0.58) vs 1.65 (0.5) p < 0.05]. Improvements in skin oxygen tension were also noted for both groups in both noted TcPO2 measures (i.e. 1.25 (0.58) vs 1.65 (0.5) (p < 0.05), for ΔTcPO2max for the older group, between visits) respectively. Improvements were also observed for systolic blood pressure in both the younger [120 (10) vs 112 (10), p  <0.05] and older group [129 (12) v 124 (11), p < 0.001].In conclusion, we observed statistically-significant improvements in microvascular function and skin oxygen tension. Our results suggest that green tea may prove beneficial as a dietary element in lifestyle interventions aiming to lower cardiovascular disease risk, in both older and younger populations.