檸檬跟茶一加一的效果大於一般大眾對他們的認知。普渡大學（Purdue University）一位食品科學的助理教授發現，柑橘類的果汁可以使綠茶中獨特的抗氧化物質在食物消化後保持效果，使這兩樣食物先前被認定的健康價值足以加乘。
兒茶素（catechins）是茶葉裡天然的抗氧化物質，這個研究比較幾種不同的飲料添加物對兒茶素的影響。研究顯示，綠茶配上柑橘汁或是維他命C，似乎能夠增加身體可吸收的兒茶素量。
這項研究的主要作者費魯茲（Mario Ferruzzi）表示：「雖然這是個初步成果，我想這個結果對於用簡單化學來解釋抗氧化物質謎團有所刺激。」
這個研究顯示綠茶植物（Camellia sinensis）中的兒茶素可以去除有毒化學物質，抑制癌細胞活動，同時刺激體內免疫強化酵素的製造。
費魯茲表示，研究的目標之一就是改善健康狀況，找到增加兒茶素攝取效果的方法對此是很重要的。他解釋，問題是兒茶素在非酸性環境（例如腸道內）是不穩定的，通常在食物消化之後吃進去的兒茶素僅有20%會被吸收。他指出：「這樣你就會立即減少大部分茶葉中兒茶素的效用。要改善兒茶素的吸收狀況，我們就必須先說明這個事實」。
費魯茲以果汁、乳類、及其他添加物質進行腸胃道消化模擬試驗，這些物質通常被用來添加在現做茶品裡，或是加在易開罐茶品中。結果發現，加了柑橘汁的試驗存留的兒茶素，比純茶品多出5倍。維他命C（又稱抗壞血酸）過去被用來延長易開罐產品的使用期限，使這個研究中2種兒茶素存留量各增加6倍及13倍之多。
這個發表在11月的《分子營養與食物研究》（Molecular Nutrition and Food Research）期刊上的研究，同時發現檸檬可使促使80％的兒茶素被存留下來。
Lemons and tea go even better together than their popularity might suggest. An assistant professor of food science at Purdue University has found that citrus juices enable more of green tea's unique antioxidants to remain after digestion, making the pairing healthier than previously thought.
The study compared the effect of various beverage additives on catechins (pronounced KA'-teh-kins), naturally occurring antioxidants found in tea.
Results suggest that complementing green tea with either citrus juices or vitamin C likely increases the amount of catechins available for the body to absorb.
"Although these results are preliminary, I think it's encouraging that a big part of the puzzle comes down to simple chemistry," said Mario Ferruzzi, assistant professor of food science at Purdue University and the study's lead author.
Studies have shown catechins from the green tea plant, Camellia sinensis, are able to detoxify toxic chemicals, inhibit cancer cell activity and stimulate production of immune-strengthening enzymes.
Finding methods to increase uptake of these catechins may be important in improving health, part of the study's goal, Ferruzzi said.
The problem, he explained, is that catechins are unstable in non-acidic environments, such as the intestines, and less than 20 percent of the total intake remains after digestion.
"Off the bat you are eliminating a large majority of the catechins from plain green tea," Ferruzzi said. "We have to address this fact if we want to improve bodily absorption."
Ferruzzi tested juices, creamers and other additives that are either commonly added to fresh-brewed tea or used to make ready-to-drink tea products by putting them through a model simulating gastric and small-intestinal digestion. Citrus juice increased recovered catechin levels by more than five times, the study found.
Ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, used to increase shelf life in ready-to-drink products, increased recovered levels of the two most abundant catechins by sixfold and 13-fold.
The study, published this month in the journal "Molecular Nutrition and Food Research," found that lemon juice caused 80 percent of tea's catechins to remain.
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