https://bio.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/news/p1/24/01/22/11525/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25593106/

ITO EN and a research group led by Professor Masato Fujioka and Lecturer Kazusuke Nagao of Kitasato University School of Medicine have started a joint industry-academy study on the efficacy of green tea ingredients for age-related hearing loss. The goal is to develop foods with functional claims and foods for specific health applications.C

Professor Fujioka and his colleagues have established iPS cells from the blood of patients with various types of hearing loss, including age-related and hereditary hearing loss, and used the differentiated inner ear hair cells to elucidate pathological conditions and search for candidate compounds for therapeutic drugs. Using this technology, they search for ingredients that protect inner ear cells using the green tea ingredients at the ITO EN Central Research Institute.

ITO EN conducts research and development on the health value of ingredients found in green tea, and in recent years has developed and sold matcha products that claim to “improve the accuracy of cognitive functions (attention and judgment).” Hearing loss is said to be a major risk factor for the development of dementia. While studying the effects of green tea ingredients on cognitive function, the company found that green tea ingredients may also help reduce the sensory function associated with age-related hearing loss.