Model backs green tea and lemon claim, lessens need to te...(erties reducing the number of animals ne...)

"As long as we know the typical gastrointestinal conditions of an animal and the volumes, we can adapt the model to mimic those conditions," Ferruzzi said. "You don't have to do expensive precursor studies."

The in vivo study backed up the model study that showed adding sugar and vitamin C to green tea enhanced the body's ability to absorb polyphenols. Ferruzzi said that adding lemon juice or other citrus juice to tea would do the trick, or consumers could look for ready-to-drink products that contain 100 percent of the recommended amount of vitamin C or ascorbic acid on the ingredient list.

"Having that vitamin C seems to do it," Ferruzzi said. "And if you don't want to squeeze a lemon into your cup, just have a glass of juice with your green tea."

Connie Weaver, head of the National Institutes of Health Purdue University-University of Alabama at Birmingham Botanical Research Center for Age-Related Diseases, which funded the research, said the study's focus was an important part of understanding how to get the most out of compounds considered beneficial.

"There is a lot of interest in bioactive materials to protect people from disease and promote better health," Weaver said. "What's been totally ignored is the way these materials are found in foods in combination with other ingredients. How they're involved in the food matrix can affect how you absorb these health promoters."

Ferruzzi said the next step in the research is to stage a human clinical trial.

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