ANTIINFLAMMATORY EFFECT OF OOLONG TEA POL YPHENOLS

The anti-inflammatory activity of aqueous oolong tea extract was teste d. The formation of edema caused in rats paws by injection of carragee nin was effectively depressed by soaking the rat paws in hot oolong te a extract. It gives 60% inhibition at the dose of 75 ppm of oolong tea extract. Oolong tea extract showed higher antiinflammatory activity t han those of green and black tea extracts. The active components were found to be catechins and oolong tea tannin (oxidative products of cat echin in oolong tea) fractionated from aqueous oolong tea extract. By oral administration of oolong tea extract, carrageenin-induced inflamm ation was also inhibited, but the anti-inflammatory activity by oral a dministration was lower than by the soaking treatment. The inflammator y activity of percutaneous absorbed oolong tea polyphenols was assumed to be due, at least partly, to the inhibition of prostaglandin biosyn thesis in rat tissue injected with carrageenin.