According to the latest study researchers have suggested that daily a cup of tea can help slash the risk of developing cancer by shrinking tumours.

Green or black tea are packed with antioxidants, which can fight harmful molecules accumulating in the body and damaging cells.

Drinking two cups of tea provides more antioxidants as eating five servings of vegetables or two apples. Now, two other studies have shown that black tea could help prevent cancer.

In the first study, American researchers have analyzed the compounds theaflavin-2 (TF-2), which is only found in black tea and oolong tea from China, which has been shown to kill cancer cells.

In another study, researchers examined the effect of the polyphenols in green tea and black in the development of breast cancer in female rats. Both significantly reduced the number of mammary tumors by 77 percent and 92 percent, respectively, and reduced growth.

“Taken together, these two studies have shown that black tea components can help reduce and eliminate cancer cells and / or result in helping to reduce the number of tumors,” the Daily Express quoted Dr Tim Bond, of the Tea Advisory Panel, as saying.

“These results suggest the need for clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy of black tea and its components on cancer risk in humans. Further studies are needed to shed more light on the clinical uses of the ingredients of black tea,” said Bond.