Tea and coffee both contain components that can potentially be used as effective agents in the treatment of leukemia. Tea, Camellia sinensis, contains polyphenols and other catechins that induce cellular apoptosis in leukemia infected cells. Specifically the polyphenol found in tea is theaflavin and the catechin is called epigallocatechin-3-gallate. Coffee, Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora, contains a powerful diterpene, similar to the catechins found in tea. Specifically the diterpene found in coffee is called kahweol. The diterpene, like the polyphenols, also prompted the leukemia infected cells to undergo apoptosis. Kahweol also induced the leukemia infected cells to stop growing and replicating.
Keywords: apoptosis, polyphenol, catechin, theaflavin, diterpene, antioxidants
