The key to clearing up adult acne may be a humble bag of green tea sitting in your kitchen cupboard.

A growing body of research shows that drinking tea, and particularly the green kind, has countless health benefits due to its antioxidant properties which have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. However, results of a new study contend that regular consumption of green tea can improve the appearance of blemishes in adult women.

Acne is a common skin condition which is caused by an over-production of oil, and results in spots, oily skin and sometimes skin that's hot or painful to touch.

In a study conducted by National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan, researchers randomly assigned 80 women, aged between 25 to 45 years of age with moderate-to-severe acne, to take a decaffeinated green tea extract, the equivalent to a glass of the tea a day, or a placebo daily for four weeks.

At the conclusion of the clinical trial, researchers determined that women who had consumed the green tea extract had less acne around the problematic nose, mouth and chin areas and "significant reductions in total lesion counts".

They believe an antioxidant in green tea, called epigallocatechin-3-gallate or EGCG, has specific anti-inflammatory which contribute to clearing acne up.

Interestingly, the group which drank green tea also showed "significant reductions" in total cholesterol levels.

Accordingly, the researchers are hoping to conduct more studies to determine more clinical benefits of green tea for women.

Green tea has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries to treat everything from headaches to depression. It contains B vitamins, folate, manganese, potassium, magnesium, caffeine and other antioxidants, notably catechins (a natural phenol and antioxidant), and also has been linked to aiding people seeking to lose weight as well as cholesterol reduction.

© Cover Media