Researchers, raising the possibility that the tea may protect against glaucoma and other eye diseases, have said that green tea contains healthful substances that can penetrate eye tissues.

Benefits of green tea were confirmed by the Scientists in ACS''s bi-weekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

So-called green tea "catechins" have been among a number of antioxidants thought capable of protecting the eye, Chi Pui Pang and colleagues point out. Those include vitamin C, vitamin E, lutein, and zeaxanthin. Until now, however, nobody knew if the catechins in green tea actually passed from the stomach and gastrointestinal tract into the tissues of the eye.

That uncertainty was resolved by Pang and his colleagues in experiments with laboratory rats that drank green tea. Analysis of eye tissues showed beyond a doubt that eye structures absorbed significant amounts of individual catechins.

The report concludes," Our results indicate that green tea consumption could benefit the eye against oxidative stress." (With Input from Agencies)