The Effects of Green Tea Amino Acid L-Theanine Consumption on the Ability to Manage Stress and Anxiety Levels: a Systematic Review

Jackson L. Williams; Julian M. Everett; Nathan M. D’Cunha; Domenico Sergi; Ekavi N. Georgousopoulou; Richard J. Keegan; Andrew J. McKune; Duane D. Mellor; Nicola Anstice; Nenad Naumovski

doi:10.1007/s11130-019-00771-5

The Effects of Green Tea Amino Acid L-Theanine Consumption on the Ability to Manage Stress and Anxiety Levels: a Systematic Review

Jackson L. Williams, Julian M. Everett, Nathan M. D’Cunha, Domenico Sergi, Ekavi N. Georgousopoulou, Richard J. Keegan, Andrew J. McKune, Duane D. Mellor, Nicola Anstice, Nenad Naumovski^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

55 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The green tea amino acid, L-theanine (L-THE) is associated with several health benefits, including improvements in mood, cognition and a reduction of stress and anxiety-like symptoms. This systematic review evaluated the effect of pure L-THE intake, in the form of orally administered nutritional supplements, on stress responses and anxiety levels in human randomised controlled trials. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist, 9 peer-reviewed journal articles were identified where L-THE as a supplement was compared to a control. Our findings suggest that supplementation of 200–400 mg/day of L-THE may assist in the reduction of stress and anxiety in people exposed to stressful conditions. Despite this finding, longer-term and larger cohort clinical studies, including those where L-THE is incorporated into the diet regularly, are needed to clinically justify the use of L-THE as a therapeutic agent to reduce stress and anxiety in people exposed to stressful conditions.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	12-23
Number of pages	12
Journal	Plant Foods for Human Nutrition
Volume	75
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-019-00771-5
Publication status	Published - 1 Mar 2020

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Williams, J. L., Everett, J. M., D’Cunha, N. M., Sergi, D., Georgousopoulou, E. N., Keegan, R. J., McKune, A. J., Mellor, D. D., Anstice, N., & Naumovski, N. (2020). The Effects of Green Tea Amino Acid L-Theanine Consumption on the Ability to Manage Stress and Anxiety Levels: a Systematic Review. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, 75(1), 12-23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-019-00771-5

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title = "The Effects of Green Tea Amino Acid L-Theanine Consumption on the Ability to Manage Stress and Anxiety Levels: a Systematic Review",

abstract = "The green tea amino acid, L-theanine (L-THE) is associated with several health benefits, including improvements in mood, cognition and a reduction of stress and anxiety-like symptoms. This systematic review evaluated the effect of pure L-THE intake, in the form of orally administered nutritional supplements, on stress responses and anxiety levels in human randomised controlled trials. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist, 9 peer-reviewed journal articles were identified where L-THE as a supplement was compared to a control. Our findings suggest that supplementation of 200–400 mg/day of L-THE may assist in the reduction of stress and anxiety in people exposed to stressful conditions. Despite this finding, longer-term and larger cohort clinical studies, including those where L-THE is incorporated into the diet regularly, are needed to clinically justify the use of L-THE as a therapeutic agent to reduce stress and anxiety in people exposed to stressful conditions.",

keywords = "Anxiety, Green tea, Human trials, L-theanine, Mental health, Stress response",

author = "Williams, {Jackson L.} and Everett, {Julian M.} and D{\textquoteright}Cunha, {Nathan M.} and Domenico Sergi and Georgousopoulou, {Ekavi N.} and Keegan, {Richard J.} and McKune, {Andrew J.} and Mellor, {Duane D.} and Nicola Anstice and Nenad Naumovski",

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year = "2020",

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Williams, JL, Everett, JM, D’Cunha, NM, Sergi, D, Georgousopoulou, EN, Keegan, RJ, McKune, AJ, Mellor, DD, Anstice, N & Naumovski, N 2020, 'The Effects of Green Tea Amino Acid L-Theanine Consumption on the Ability to Manage Stress and Anxiety Levels: a Systematic Review', Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, vol. 75, no. 1, pp. 12-23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-019-00771-5

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T1 - The Effects of Green Tea Amino Acid L-Theanine Consumption on the Ability to Manage Stress and Anxiety Levels

T2 - a Systematic Review

AU - Williams, Jackson L.

AU - Everett, Julian M.

AU - D’Cunha, Nathan M.

AU - Sergi, Domenico

AU - Georgousopoulou, Ekavi N.

AU - Keegan, Richard J.

AU - McKune, Andrew J.

AU - Mellor, Duane D.

AU - Anstice, Nicola

AU - Naumovski, Nenad

PY - 2020/3/1

Y1 - 2020/3/1

N2 - The green tea amino acid, L-theanine (L-THE) is associated with several health benefits, including improvements in mood, cognition and a reduction of stress and anxiety-like symptoms. This systematic review evaluated the effect of pure L-THE intake, in the form of orally administered nutritional supplements, on stress responses and anxiety levels in human randomised controlled trials. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist, 9 peer-reviewed journal articles were identified where L-THE as a supplement was compared to a control. Our findings suggest that supplementation of 200–400 mg/day of L-THE may assist in the reduction of stress and anxiety in people exposed to stressful conditions. Despite this finding, longer-term and larger cohort clinical studies, including those where L-THE is incorporated into the diet regularly, are needed to clinically justify the use of L-THE as a therapeutic agent to reduce stress and anxiety in people exposed to stressful conditions.

AB - The green tea amino acid, L-theanine (L-THE) is associated with several health benefits, including improvements in mood, cognition and a reduction of stress and anxiety-like symptoms. This systematic review evaluated the effect of pure L-THE intake, in the form of orally administered nutritional supplements, on stress responses and anxiety levels in human randomised controlled trials. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist, 9 peer-reviewed journal articles were identified where L-THE as a supplement was compared to a control. Our findings suggest that supplementation of 200–400 mg/day of L-THE may assist in the reduction of stress and anxiety in people exposed to stressful conditions. Despite this finding, longer-term and larger cohort clinical studies, including those where L-THE is incorporated into the diet regularly, are needed to clinically justify the use of L-THE as a therapeutic agent to reduce stress and anxiety in people exposed to stressful conditions.

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The Effects of Green Tea Amino Acid L-Theanine Consumption on the Ability to Manage Stress and Anxiety Levels: a Systematic Review

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