Green tea may hold promise as a new treatment for psoriasis and other inflammatory skin conditions, including dandruff and lupus-related skin lesions, according to a U.S. study.

Medical College of Georgia researchers found that green tea slowed the growth of skin cells in rodents genetically predisposed to psoriasis.

The findings were published in the Aug. 18 issue of the journal Experimental Dermatology.

Aussie Green Tea

“Psoriasis, an autoimmune disease, causes the skin to become thicker, because the growth of skin cells is out of control,” lead investigator Dr. Stephen Hsu, an oral biologist in the MCG School of Dentistry, explained in a prepared statement. “In psoriasis, immune cells, which usually protect against infection, instead trigger the release of cytokines, which causes inflammation and the overproduction of skin cells.”

Previous research has shown that green tea helps suppress inflammation.

Hsu and his colleagues suggested that green tea helps treat psoriasis and other inflammatory skin diseases by regulating the expression of Caspase-14, a protein in genes that regulates the life cycle of skin cells.