Amy Cameron and colleagues from the University of Dundee and University of Edinburgh carried out the research. The study was funded by the Caledonian Research Foundation, the Chief Scientists Office of the Scottish Executive, the Medical Research Council, and scholarships from the Carnegie Trust for the University of Scotland. The study was published in the peer-reviewed medical journal: Aging Cell.

In this controlled laboratory experiment, the researchers investigated if dietary factors could play a role in the chemical pathways in the body that are involved in regulating aging and glucose formation and breakdown.

As tea is one of the most popular drinks consumed globally, and little is known about the actions of polyphenols from black tea (the antioxidants that are believed to protect against cell damage) in humans, the researchers hoped that further research would reveal how age-related metabolic diseases (such as diabetes) can be delayed or prevented.

The rate of ageing in the body is believed to be regulated by a group of molecules known as transcription factors. Both insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1  have been found to inhibit . The researchers were particularly interested in one type of molecule ¨C which is known to prevent glucose production in the liver by suppressing certain genes.