Now you have another reason to love Japan’s famous matcha. A study in mice suggests that green tea powder may reduce the need to sneeze in people with nasal allergies.
Matcha is a bright green powder made from specially cultivated green tea leaves that are dried and ground. It is also used to make tea and as a flavoring agent in various products. Previous studies have shown that tea contains high levels of biologically active compounds such as antioxidants and amino acids, and its use has been associated with a variety of health benefits, including improved heart and brain function and reduced inflammation.
Professor Osamu Uenuma of the Atomic Bomb Radiation Medicine Research Institute at Hiroshima University in Japan was particularly interested in matcha’s effects on people with allergic rhinitis, commonly known as hay fever. “Human studies suggest that green tea may alleviate allergic rhinitis, but it is unclear how it works,” Uenuma said.
In an early access paper published on March 5th. npj food scienceUenuma et al. reported that mice engineered to experience hay fever symptoms were given matcha tea two to three times a week for over five weeks, with an additional tea 30 minutes before exposure to the allergen that causes symptoms of allergic rhinitis.
The research team found that the matcha treatment caused the mice to sneeze much less than expected, but perhaps more interesting was the finding that matcha did not appear to affect allergic responses that depend on immunoglobulin E (IgE), mast cells, and T cells.
IgE antibodies that bind to mast cells are central to allergic reactions, causing the release of histamine and other inflammatory chemicals. Mast cells drive the initial stages of the allergic response, and T cells coordinate long-term immune processes, including IgE production.
Oral matcha reduced sneezing without appreciably altering key immune markers. Instead, activation of brainstem neurons associated with the sneeze reflex was strongly suppressed. ”
Osamu Uenuma, Professor, Hiroshima University Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine
The research group examined the activity of a gene called c-Fos, an indicator of neurological and behavioral responses to strong stimuli, such as exposure to hay fever allergens, in the ventral trigeminal caudal nucleus, an area of the brain involved in sneezing. They found that expression of the c-Fos gene increased when mice experienced hay fever, but treatment with matcha returned expression levels to near normal.
The next step is to study whether these effects also occur in humans. “The goal is an evidence-backed food-based option that complements standard treatments for allergic rhinitis symptoms,” Uenuma said.
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Reference magazines:
Susumu Ogata others. (2026). Matcha reduces sneezing response in a mouse model of allergic rhinitis. npj food science. DOI: 10.1038/s41538-026-00777-9. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-026-00777-9
