MEDICINAL EFFECTS.
The virtues of tea as a medicine have been extolled from the time of its earliest use as a beverage in China. Chin-nung, a celebrated scholar and philosopher, who existed long before Confucius, and to whom its first discovery is attributed, is claimed to have said of it: “Tea is better than wine, for it leadeth not to intoxication; it is better than water, for it doth not carry disease, neither doth it act as a poison when the wells contain foul and rotten matter;” and Lo-yu, another learned Chinese who lived during the dynasty of Tang, declared that “Tea tempers the spirits, harmonizes the mind, dispels lassitude, relieves fatigue, awakens thought, prevents drowsiness, refreshes the body and clears the perceptive faculties,” while the Emperor Kieu-lung advised all his subjects to “Drink this precious liquor at their ease, as it will chase away the five causes of sorrow. You can taste and feel, but not describe the calm state of repose produced by it.” Again, Ten Rhyne, a botanist and chemist to the Emperor of Japan, in a work published about 1730, states that “Tea purifies the blood, drives away frightful dreams, dispels malignant vapors from the brain, mitigates dizziness, dries up rheum in the eyes, corrects humors, regulates the liver, modifies the spleen, restrains sleep, restricts drowsiness, expels lassitude, is good in dropsy, makes the body lively, cheers the heart and drives away fear.” But of its sanitary effects after its first introduction into Europe there was for a long period much consternation existing, being preposterously praised by some writers as an incentive to virtue, and as unjustly condemned by others as productive of numerous diseases, more particularly that of causing an increase of nervous complaints, which it would perhaps be more just to attribute to the more complicated state of modern social customs arising from an augmented population and advance in luxurious living, in connection with the more frequent infringement of the natural laws, especially that of turning night into day, and not seldom day into night, as is the too common practice of the votaries of fashion, together with the abuse of stimulants, tobacco and other narcotics.
Its assailants, however, were not very distinguished, but have been quite emphatic in their condemnation. Jonas Hanway, a man whose follies may well be pardoned for his virtues, being, perhaps, the most conspicuous of them. “He looked abroad upon the world, and perceiving that many things went wrong with it, and others no longer presented the same attractive appearance, he remembered them to have had in his youth, he laid to the charge of tea all the evils and disenchantments that oppressed his spirits.” “Men,” he says, “seem to have lost their stature and comeliness and women their beauty, and what Shakespeare had asserted to the concealment of love in this age is more frequently occasioned by the use of tea.” The champions of our “wholesome sage,” who contended that “it was far superior to the boasted Indian shrub,” were but a few of the host who attacked tea as “an innovation pregnant with danger to the health and good morals of the people.” Others, again, although resolute for its banishment from the tea-caddy, were yet willing to accord it a place in the medicine chest. To such complaints echoes were not wanting, the tea-drinkers, in a short time, having it all their own way.
Lettson was the first medical writer who attempted to give the public a reasonable and scientific account of tea, but even his fears of its abuse ran away with his judgment. The poet who commends “the cup that cheers, but not inebriates,” must have been startled if Lettson’s pamphlet ever fell into his hands, at the assertion “that the growth of this pernicious custom (drunkenness) is often owing to the weakness and debility of the system brought on by the daily habit of drinking tea,” and that “the trembling hand seeks relief in some cordial in order to refresh and excite again the enfeebled system, whereby such persons fall into the habit of intemperance.” Here assuredly the exception must have been taken for the rule, that tea may be so abused as to create a craving for alcoholic stimulants is unquestionable, but that at any period of its history its abuse has been so general as to become the main cause of intoxication may be safely denied. On the contrary, it was for a long time looked upon as the great means by which intemperance was to have been banished from society. Again, if there be any truth in this charge, why is it that the Chinese and Japanese, who are the greatest and most inveterate tea-consumers in the world for centuries, using it in season and out, are yet the most temperate? It is, however, admitted that the tremblings and other nervous effects produced by tea on brokers and professional testers, liquor is too frequently resorted to as an offset, and that by the practice of some tea drinkers of the absurd and dangerous Russian and English customs of adding vodki, gin or other alcoholic stimulant to the “cup of tea,” a habit is oftentimes acquired which can never afterwards be relinquished. Neither is it true, as alleged by Lettson, that the use of tea has been the cause of the increase of nervous and kindred complaints in colleges and seminaries. Still, his advice is sound when he states that “tea ought by no means to be the common drink of boarding schools, and when allowed, in moderation, the pupils should at the same time be informed that the constant or too frequent use of tea would be injurious to their health and constitutions. As whatever tends to impair the nerve power and ultimately the digestive organs, in strumuous children particularly, should be by all means avoided.” But if a diminution of the number of inflammatory diseases be one of the consequences of the increased consumption of tea, which is now generally conceded, it is very much in favor of its use, as however distracting nervous diseases may be, they are by no means so fatal as those of an inflammatory nature, more particularly as the former can be almost immediately remedied by relinquishing the use of tea or by simply omitting it from the breakfast for a time, at which meal it is certainly less proper to be used.
The medicinal uses of tea, however, are not many, neither does its chemical analysis shed much light on its action on the human economy, a correct estimate of its particular action thereon having so far not been ascertained. So that before attempting any such estimate it will be necessary to consider that many of its attributed ill-effects may be due as much to the spurious leaves of other plants so frequently mixed with genuine tea-leaves for adulteration purposes, as well as to the deleterious compounds so often used in coloring, for the results of which pure tea is held responsible. The most dispassionate inquirers, however, regard it as a narcotic, the stimulating period of which is most conspicuous and of the longest duration, the active ingredient, theine, being an alkaloid identical with the caffeine of coffee, the medical action of the tea infusion upon the system is the result of the several effects of this alkaloid formed by combination of the theine, tannin, volatile oil, and the hot water. Of these elements theine probably plays the most important part, and like all other potent alkaloids theine is a powerful modifier of the nerve functions, increasing the action of the skin and cooling the body by lessening the force of the circulation, but does not cause any congestion of the mucous membrane, particularly in that of the bowels. In answer to the question whether theine produces nervousness and wakefulness, reliable authorities answer: No! But that, on the contrary, the effect of theine upon the human system is a calming and soothing one, producing a sense of repose and supplying to the body that which is lost by fatigue.
The experiments made with tea on a number of animals for the purpose of ascertaining its effects on the nervous and muscular apparatus give varying results, the most important being that of lessening the amount of nitrogenous excreta, notably that of the urine, which means to diminish the rate at which nitrogenous substances are oxydized within the body, such action being probably due to the volatile oil, as Lehman found the same oil in roasted coffee to produce the same action in his experiments. There being a substance in the flesh or muscles of all animals known as kreatine, the chemical properties of which are analogous to those of theine, and it is now generally accepted that these substances are most agreeable to the human system as food which most nearly resemble the compound that form the tissues and muscles of the body, while those act as poison whose composition is most different from that of the tissues and muscles on which the life of the body depends. Scientists who have made this subject a special study, inform us that the substance known as kreatine is diminished by overwork and fatigue, and that, therefore, as theine and kreatine are chemically about one and the same property, the theory is accepted that the theine in tea supplies best that which is lost to the system by the wear and tear of life, the property termed caffeine in coffee being identical with both, serving the same purpose. While Liebig suggests that theine contributes to the formation of taurine, a compound peculiar to bile, and Lehman found that its administration is followed by a slight augmentation of urea. It has also been proven that theine and quinine are similar in nature, and that on analysis these substances are shown to contain the same proportions of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen, and, as is well known, quinine is about the only remedy used in intermittent and malarial fevers and ague. These facts being settled beyond dispute, it can be readily understood why it is that tea is so soothing and beneficial to those who may feel feverish, tired or debilitated. And while it is not claimed that tea alone will cure fever and ague, it certainly acts as a preventative.
In the early stages of fever it is found very valuable when given in the form of a cold infusion, it being not only considered an excellent diluent at the commencement, but also when administered in the form of “a tincture,” prepared by macerating the leaves in proof spirit and adding a teaspoonful of the mixture to a small cup of water. This preparation is given to the patient at short intervals during the night, after the acute symptoms have subsided, and is often of great benefit during the latter stages. For this purpose, in hospitals and other institutions, the leaves which have been used once for the regular infusion, may be macerated in alcohol and a tincture of sufficient strength obtained at a cheap and economical rate. In a peculiar state of the brain, termed “sthenic excitement,” a condition clearly bordering on inflammation, more especially when produced by alcoholic stimulants, intense study or long-continued application of the mind to any particular subject or literary research, an infusion made from Green tea will quickly act as a salutary remedy. While, on the contrary, in periods of diminished excitement, a morbid vigilance and increased nervous disturbance is certain to follow its use, much better results being produced by small quantities repeated than by large ones in such cases.
In cases of poisoning by arsenic and antimony, fatal results have been prevented by the prompt administration of a strong infusion of tea, its power as an antidote in such cases depending on the tannin decomposing the poisonous substances. While it is nearly as valuable an antidote to poisoning by opium as coffee, it is, however, only useful in combatting the secondary symptoms, and should never be administered in such cases until the stomach pump or other means have removed the opium from the stomach. In some forms of heart disease, tea proves a useful sedative, while in others it is positively injurious. Many cases of severe nervous headache are instantly relieved by a cup of strong Green tea taken without the addition of either milk or sugar, but should be only occasionally resorted to in such cases, it being much better to avoid the cause.
The almost total absence of gouty and calculous diseases in China and Japan is claimed to be attributable to the constant and inveterate use of tea by the inhabitants of these countries, in confirmation of which Prout says: “Persons of a gouty or rheumatic nature, and, more especially, those prone to calculous diseases, will find tea the least objectionable article of common drink, but should use it without the addition of sugar and only very little milk. When the water is hard, the addition of a small quantity of carbonate of soda will improve the flavor of the tea at the same time, rendering it a more proper beverage for persons so affected, but should not be taken by them for at least four hours after any solid meal, the addition of the alkali serving to increase the action of the skin as well as to augment its cooling and refreshing properties in the fullest degree.”
Dr. Smith alleges that “tea promotes all vital actions, the action of the skin particularly being increased and that of the bowels lessened, the kidney secretions are also affected, and the urine, perhaps, somewhat diminished, the latter being uncertain.” Other recent authorities agreeing that the direct effect of tea upon the human system is to increase the assimilation of food, both of the heat-giving and flesh-forming kinds, and that with an abundance of food it promotes nutrition, while in the absence of sufficient food it increases the waste of the tissues and body generally. An infusion of cold tea has been known to check violent retching and vomiting, while a very hot one will prove beneficial in severe attacks of colic and diarrhœa, having a specific action on the kidneys and urine. An application of infused tea leaves will subdue inflammation of the eyes produced by cold or other causes, but should be applied only and allowed to remain over night; and people who travel much will find a supply of tea a valuable accompaniment, as it is found to improve the taste and counteract the effects of the most brackish water, proving efficient also in preventing the dysenteric and diarrhetic results produced by the frequent and extreme changes of drinking waters. It is for the purpose of qualifying the water expressly that tea is so generally used in China, as very little good drinking water is to be met with in any part of that country.
With brain-workers it has always been a favorite beverage, the subdued irascibility, the refreshed spirits, and the renewed energies which the student so often owes to it, have been the theme of many an accomplished pen. Yet it is impossible to speak too strongly against the not uncommon habit frequently adopted by ardent students when prosecuting their studies far into the night, to resist the claims of nature for repose, and keep off the natural sleepiness by repeated libations of tea. That it answers the purpose for the time being cannot be denied, but the object is often attained at a fearful price, the persistent adoption of such a practice being certain to lead to the utter destruction of the health and vigor of both body and mind. Less injury in such cases will result from the use of coffee, there being this difference between the morbid states of the nervous system produced by coffee and that resulting from tea. The effect of the former generally subsides or disappears entirely on relinquishing its use, while that caused by tea is more permanent and often incapable of being ever eradicated.
That tea does not suit all temperaments, constitutions and all ages is no valid argument against its general use. That it is less adapted to children than adults is admitted; indeed, for very young children it is entirely improper, producing in them, like all narcotics, a morbid state of the brain and nervous system in general. It is also unsuited to those of an irritable temperament as well as for those of a leuco-phlegmatic constitution, such persons illy bearing much liquid of any kind, particularly in the evening, prospering best on a dry diet at all times, and to which young children especially should be strictly confined. Briefly it may be summed up that tea is best suited to persons in health, the plethoric and sanguine, and upon which principle it is the proper diet at the beginning of fevers and all inflammatory complaints. Besides the more obvious effects with which all who use it are familiar, tea saves food by lessening the waste of the body, thus nourishing the muscular system while it excites the nervous to increased activity, for which reason old and infirm persons derive more benefit and personal comfort from its use than from any corresponding beverage. To the question “does tea produce nervousness?” the answer is “in moderation, emphatically No!” One to two cups of tea prepared moderately strong, even when taken two to three times per day will not make any one nervous, but when drunk to excess it undoubtedly will. Tea-testers and experts who are tasting it all the time, day in and day out, for the purpose of valuing it, are frequently made nervous by it, soon recover by a little abstinence. Tea, like liquor and drugs, when taken in moderate quantities, produce one effect, but when used in large and immoderate quantities produce just the contrary result. China and Japan teas, containing more theine and less tannin, are consequently less hurtful and more refreshing than India and Ceylon teas, which contain nearly double the quantity of tannin, the astringent property to which India and Ceylon teas owe the harsh, bitter taste so often complained of in them, and which is undoubtedly the unsuspected cause of the indigestion and nervousness produced by their use.