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Keisuke Sakurai 1,+, Chutong Shen 1,+, Yuri Ezaki 1, Noriko Inamura 2,3, Yoichi Fukushima 4 , Nobutaka Masuoka 1 and Tatsuhiro Hisatsune 1,* 1 Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa 277-8562, Japan; [email protected] (K.S.); [email protected] (C.S.); [email protected] (Y.E.); [email protected] (N.M.) 2 3 4 * Community Health Promotion Laboratory, Mitsui Fudosan, Co., Ltd., Kashiwa 277-8519, Japan; [email protected] Urban Design Center Kashiwanoha (UDCK), Kashiwa 277-0871, Japan Marketing & Communications Division, Nestle Japan Ltd., Tokyo 140-0002, Japan; [email protected] Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +81-4-7136-3632 + Theseauthors contributed equally to this work.Furthermore, green tea has improved memory and attention [8,9], and activated working memory seen in functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) [10,11].Received: 27 October 2020; Accepted: 24 November 2020; Published: 26 November 2020 Abstract: Matcha Green Tea Powder contains a variety of active ingredients beneficial to health, such as tea catechins, lutein and vitamin K. It is also known that these ingredients confer benefits upon cognitive functions of elderly people.In the gender-specific analysis, a significant cognitive enhancement was observed in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score in the active group of women.Daily food intake was assessed by a Brief-type Self-administered Diet History Questionnaire (BDHQ).

Keisuke Sakurai 1,†, Chutong Shen 1,†, Yuri Ezaki 1, Noriko Inamura 2,3, Yoichi Fukushima 4 , Nobutaka Masuoka 1 and Tatsuhiro Hisatsune 1,* 1 Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa 277-8562, Japan; [email protected] (K.S.); [email protected] (C.S.); [email protected] (Y.E.); [email protected] (N.M.) 2 3 4 * Community Health Promotion Laboratory, Mitsui Fudosan, Co., Ltd., Kashiwa 277-8519, Japan; [email protected] Urban Design Center Kashiwanoha (UDCK), Kashiwa 277-0871, Japan Marketing & Communications Division, Nestle Japan Ltd., Tokyo 140-0002, Japan; [email protected] Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +81-4-7136-3632 † Theseauthors contributed equally to this work. Received: 27 October 2020; Accepted: 24 November 2020; Published: 26 November 2020 Abstract: Matcha Green Tea Powder contains a variety of active ingredients beneficial to health, such as tea catechins, lutein and vitamin K. It is also known that these ingredients confer benefits upon cognitive functions of elderly people. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the relationship between a dailysupplementationofMatchaandthechangeincognitivefunctionsofcommunity-dwellingelderly people. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 12-week trial was performed. Sixty-one participants were recruited and randomly assigned to receive test drink containing 3 g powder from fresh Matcha or placebo powder per day. Changes in cognitive function were assessed utilizing a psychometric test battery. Daily food intake was assessed by a Brief-type Self-administered Diet History Questionnaire (BDHQ). In the gender-specific analysis, a significant cognitive enhancement was observed in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score in the active group of women. In dietary analysis, we found a significant inverse correlation between consumption of vitamin K in daily diet, excluding test drinks, and change in MoCA. The present study suggests that daily supplementation of Matcha Green Tea Powder has protective effects against cognitive decline in community-dwelling elderly women. Keywords: green tea; cognitive function; memory function; impulsivity; aging; vitamin K 1. Introduction Tea (Camellia sinensis) is one of the most popular drinks in the world. In fact, the green tea market is growing worldwide, andgreenteaproductionin2023isexpectedtobedoublethatof10yearsago[1]. Many studies have shown various health benefits of tea consumption, such as reducing the risk of stroke [2,3] by lowering blood pressure [4,5], improving psychopathological symptoms and providing neuroprotection [6]. In particular, green tea consumption is said to have a positive effect on stress relief and anxiety reduction in individuals who already suffer from psychopathological symptoms [7,8]. Furthermore, green tea has improved memory and attention [8,9], and activated working memory seen in functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) [10,11]. As these health benefits of drinking green tea are more widely known, not only the consumption of tea itself but the number of people taking tea