Dont Forget To Drink Your Green Tea

Don’t forget to drink your green tea

Friday, September 14, 2012. The journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research published an article online on June 13, 2012 that suggests a beneficial effect on the brain for a polyphenol found in green tea known as epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG).

Yun Bai of the Third Military Medical University in Chongqing, China and colleagues cultured adult mouse hippocampal neural progenitor cells with varying concentrations of EGCG or no EGCG for 24 hours. "We proposed that EGCG can improve cognitive function by impacting the generation of neuron cells, a process known as neurogenesis," Dr Bai remarked. "We focused our research on the hippocampus, the part of the brain which processes information from short-term to long-term memory."

A significant increase in the number of neural progenitor cells was determined in cultures that received higher amounts of EGCG. Similar findings were obtained upon examination of the dentate gyrus area of the brain in adult mice that were treated with the compound.

The researchers then evaluated the effects of EGCG on memory and learning. "We ran tests on two groups of mice, one which had imbibed EGCG and a control group," Dr Bai explained. "First the mice were trained for three days to find a visible platform in their maze. Then they were trained for seven days to find a hidden platform."

The team observed a reduction in the amount of time needed to find the hidden platform in mice that received EGCG. "Our results suggest that EGCG enhances learning and memory in 4-month-old mice as shown by improvements in object recognition and spatial memory," the authors conclude.

"We have shown that the organic chemical EGCG acts directly to increase the production of neural progenitor cells, both in glass tests and in mice," Dr Bai stated. "This helps us to understand the potential for EGCG, and green tea which contains it, to help combat degenerative diseases and memory loss."

The authors remark that "Based on previous safety and pharmacokinetic studies, it is likely that a daily 1500–1600 mg bolus of EGCG in humans would achieve physiological levels similar to those in the sera of EGCG-treated (20 mg/kg) mice. Oral doses of similar magnitudes have been used in clinical trials, although EGCG has not been administered to humans on a regular basis."

"Green tea is a popular beverage across the world," Dr Bai noted. "There has been plenty of scientific attention on its use in helping prevent cardiovascular diseases, but now there is emerging evidence that its chemical properties may impact cellular mechanisms in the brain."

Three months of green tea extract results in reductions in inflammation, blood pressure and oxidative stress in obese men and women

A report in the June, 2012 issue of Nutrition Research published the results of a double-blinded trial which found a benefit for supplementation with green tea extract on blood pressure, inflammation, oxidative stress and insulin resistance. "To the best of our knowledge, this is the first clinical trial performed on obese, hypertensive patients," announce authors Pawel Bogdanski and his colleagues at Polands Poznan University.

Fifty-six men and women with high blood pressure and a body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or more were randomized to receive a capsule containing 379 milligrams green tea extract or a placebo for three months. Blood pressure and serum levels of lipids, glucose, antioxidants, insulin and the inflammatory markers tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured before and after treatment.

At the end of the study, subjects who received green tea had improved insulin resistance, blood pressure, lipids, inflammation and total antioxidant status. Dr Bogdanski and his associates remark that green tea's anti-inflammatory and antioxidant actions may explain its cardioprotective and blood pressure-lowering effects.

"The present findings demonstrate strong evidence for a beneficial influence of green tea extract supplementation on blood pressure, carbohydrate metabolism, and lipid profile, as well as on inflammation and oxidative stress, in patients with obesity-related hypertension," the authors write. "Further studies on a larger scale and with a longer duration of observation are needed to support our data and to explore their mechanistic basis."

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