5.3 Side effects and Risk Benefit Assessment 5.3.1 Side effects In all clinical trials investigating the oral intake of green tea/EGCG in various doses and pharmacological forms, EGCG has shown a good safety and tolerability in daily doses of up to 1200 mg over a period of 6 months. Side effects that have been reported after application of EGCG were usually mild and did not occur more often than under placebo (flatulence, headache, nausea, vertigo, abdominal cramps and muscle pain). Other reported side effects (arterial hypertension, palpitations, headache, polyuria, tremor, sleep disorders, nausea/vomiting) are due to the caffeine part in green tea and are not due to EGCG, as all studies using pure EGCG have not reported such side effects.