Matcha may tweak sneeze circuits
Japanese researchers found that matcha altered brain activity tied to allergic sneezing in mice — the study suggests matcha could influence neural pathways behind seasonal rhinitis, but findings are early and animal‑only for now study summary.
An early‑access paper by Sawako Ogata and colleagues appears in npj Science of Food (DOI 10.1038/s41538-026-00777-9), with the manuscript received Dec. 16, 2025 and accepted Feb. 17, 2026. nature.com Mice in the study received continuous intragastric matcha at 250 mg/kg and were dosed orally 2–3 times per week for over five weeks, plus an extra dose ~30 minutes before allergen challenge. scilit.com Investigators quantified sneezing episodes in defined five‑minute windows after allergen or chemical triggers and reported a statistically significant suppression of both allergen‑ and histamine/substance P‑induced sneezes in matcha‑treated animals. msn.com Neurobiological readouts showed matcha strongly lowered c‑Fos expression in the ventral spinal trigeminal nucleus caudalis (Sp5C)—the brainstem relay for nasal sensory input—bringing activity close to baseline after stimulation. eurekalert.org Key systemic allergy readouts—serum IgE, mast‑cell and T‑cell markers, and inflammatory cell infiltration of the nasal mucosa—showed no clear changes with matcha, implying an effect on neural reflex pathways rather than on classical immune cascades. eurekalert.org The corresponding author, Prof. Osamu Kaminuma of Hiroshima University, frames the next step as moving from this murine model to human studies to test whether matcha can be an evidence‑backed, food‑based adjunct for allergic rhinitis. eurekalert.org
