Green Tea Green tea is obtained from the fresh leaves of the plant Camellia sinensis. Polyphenols are thought to be the major chemo preventive mediators. Green tea contains four major polyphenols: (-)-epicatechin (EC), (-)-epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG), (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC), and (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). It also contains other agents include caffeine, flavonoids, phenolic acids as well as the alkaloids the obromine and theophylline. The first evidence that green tea polyphenols might have a protective role in UV- induced skin cancer came from studies by Wang et al., who showed that green tea administered in the drinking water to SKH-1 hairless mice had a dose-dependent prolongation in the mean time of tumor development when they were subjected to a photo carcinogenesis protocol. Very little absorption by green tea in the UVB or UVA range; it is effective when given systemically; and protection against at least some of the biological effects of ultraviolet radiation occur when green tea is applied immediately after exposure