immunity

A recent study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concluded that drinking matcha daily greatly enhanced the overall response of the immune system. The exceedingly high levels of antioxidants in matcha mainly take the form of polyphenols, catechins, and flavonoids, each of which aids the body’s defense in its daily struggles against free radicals that come from the pollution in your air, water and foods.

Recent Research Papers on
immunity

Action of green tea catechin on bone metabolic disorder in chronic cadmium-poisoned rats

Author: Jeong-Hwa Choi and In-Koo Rhee and Keun-Yong Park and Kun-Young Park and Jong-Ki Kim and Soon-Jae Rhee

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of green tea catechin on bone metabolic disorders and its mechanism in chronic cadmium-poisoned rats. Sprague-Dawley male rats weighing 100 ± 10 g were randomly assigned to one control group and three cadmium-poisoned groups. The cadmium groups included a catechin free diet (Cd-0C) group, a 0.25% catechin diet (Cd-0.25C) group and a 0.5% catechin diet (Cd-0.5C) group according to their respective levels of catechin supplement. After 20 weeks, the deoxypyridinoline and crosslink values measured in urine were significantly increased in the Cd-0C group. Cadmium intoxication seemed to lead to an increase in bone resorption. In the catechin supplemented group (Cd-0.5C group), these urinary bone resorption marks, were decreased. The serum osteocalcin content in the cadmium-poisoned group was significantly increased as compared with the control group. In the catechin supplemented group serum osteocalcin content values were lower than the control group. The cadmium-intoxicated group (Cd-0C group), had lower bone mineral density than the control group (total body, vertebra, pelvis, tibia and femur). The catechin supplement increased bone mineral density to about the same as the control group. Bone mineral content showed a similar trend to total bone mineral density. Therefore, the bone mineral content of the Cd-0C group at the 20th week was significantly lower than the control group. The catechin supplemented group (Cd-0.5C group) was about the same as the control group. The cause of decreasing bone mineral density and bone mineral content by cadmium poisoning was due to the fast bone turnover rate, where bone resorption occurred at a higher rate than bone formation. The green tea catechin aided in normalizing bone metabolic disorders in bone mineral density, bone mineral content and bone calcium content caused by chronic cadmium intoxication.

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Inhibition of adenovirus infection and adenain by green tea catechins

Author: Joseph M Weber and Angelique Ruzindana-Umunyana and Lise Imbeault and Sucheta Sircar

Green tea catechins have been reported to inhibit proteases involved in cancer metastasis and infection by influenza virus and HIV. To date there are no effective anti-adenoviral therapies. Consequently, we studied the effect of green tea catechins, and particularly the predominant component, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), on adenovirus infection and the viral protease adenain, in cell culture. Adding EGCG (100 μM) to the medium of infected cells reduced virus yield by two orders of magnitude, giving and IC50 of 25 μM and a therapeutic index of 22 in Hep2 cells. The agent was the most effective when added to the cells during the transition from the early to the late phase of viral infection suggesting that EGCG inhibits one or more late steps in virus infection. One of these steps appears to be virus assembly because the titer of infectious virus and the production of physical particles was much more affected than the synthesis of virus proteins. Another step might be the maturation cleavages carried out by adenain. Of the four catechins tested on adenain, EGCG was the most inhibitory with an IC50 of 109 μM, compared with an IC50 of 714 μM for PCMB, a standard cysteine protease inhibitor. EGCG and different green teas inactivated purified adenovirions with IC50 of 250 and 245-3095, respectively. We conclude that the anti-adenoviral activity of EGCG manifests itself through several mechanisms, both outside and inside the cell, but at effective drug concentrations well above that reported in the serum of green tea drinkers.

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Suppression of Helicobacter pylori-induced gastritis by green tea extract in Mongolian gerbils

Author: Satoshi Matsubara and Hideyuki Shibata and Fumiyasu Ishikawa and Teruo Yokokura and Mami Takahashi and Takashi Sugimura and Keiji Wakabayashi

Since urease of Helicobacter pylori is essential for its colonization, we focused attention on foodstuffs which inhibit the activity of this enzyme. Among plant-derived 77 foodstuff samples tested, some tea and rosemary extracts were found to clearly inhibit H. pylori urease in vitro. In particular, green tea extract (GTE) showed the strongest inhibition of H. pylori urease, with an IC50 value of 13 μg/ml. Active principles were identified to be catechins, the hydroxyl group of 5′-position appearing important for urease inhibition. Furthermore, when H. pylori-inoculated Mongolian gerbils were given GTE in drinking water at the concentrations of 500, 1000, and 2000 ppm for 6 weeks, gastritis and the prevalence of H. pylori-infected animals were suppressed in a dose-dependent manner. Since the acquisition by H. pylori of resistance to antibiotics has become a serious problem, tea and tea catechins may be very safe resources to control H. pylori-associated gastroduodenal diseases.

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The effect of ascorbic acid on total antioxidant activity of black and green teas

Author: Dorota Majchrzak and Sabine Mitter and Ibrahim Elmadfa

The beneficial effects of green and black tea are generally attributed to the antioxidant activity of their phenolic compounds. Tea is commonly used with milk or lemon. Milk proteins might complex with tea polyphenols and reduce their antioxidant activity. Lemon contains vitamin C (ascorbic acid) which has antioxidative properties and can positively influence the antioxidant potential of tea. The present study aimed to compare, in vitro, the antioxidant activities of different commercially available types of tea, prepared by commonly used domestic methods and to evaluate the possible effects of different doses (5–40 mg/100 ml) of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) on the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of tea. The antioxidant activity of tea extracts was determined by the photometric method, according to Rice-Evans and Miller [Methods Enzymol. 234 (1994) 279], measuring the formation of the radical cation ABTS. The values of antioxidant activity of teas prepared in the same way as when consumed were in similar ranges, from 13.3 to 21.6 mmol TE (TE = Trolox equivalents) in green tea and 10.4–17.6 mmol TE in black tea. The experiment in which ascorbic acid was added to teas showed that TAC in black tea extracts increased in a linear manner between 5 and 20 mg ascorbic acid/100 ml tea solution (r=0.984; p<0.01) and in green tea extracts up to 30 mg ascorbic acid/100 ml tea solution (r=0.959; p<0.01).

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Green tea polyphenols as inhibitors of ribonuclease A

Author: Kalyan Sundar Ghosh and Tushar Kanti Maiti and Swagata Dasgupta

Ribonucleases (RNases), which are essential for cleavage of RNA, may be cytotoxic due to undesired cleavage of RNA in the cell. The quest for small molecule inhibitors of members of the ribonuclease superfamily has become indispensable with a growing number exhibiting unusual biological properties. Thus, inhibitors of RNases may serve as potential drug candidates. Green tea catechins (GTC), particularly its major constituent (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), have reported potential against cell proliferation and angiogenesis induced by several growth factors including angiogenin, a member of the RNase superfamily. This study reports the inhibition of bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A (RNase A) by EGCG and GTC. This has been checked qualitatively by an agarose gel based assay. Enzyme kinetic studies with cytidine 2′,3′ cyclic monophosphate as the substrate have also been conducted. Results indicate substantial inhibitory activity of a noncompetitive nature with an inhibition constant of ∼80 μM for EGCG and ∼100 μM for GTC measured in gallic acid equivalents.

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Pharmacological effects of green tea on the gastrointestinal system

Author: Marcel W.L. Koo and Chi H. Cho

Green tea is rich in polyphenolic compounds, with catechins as its major component. Studies have shown that catechins possess diverse pharmacological properties that include anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, anti-arteriosclerotic and anti-bacterial effects. In the gastrointestinal tract, green tea was found to activate intracellular antioxidants, inhibit procarcinogen formation, suppress angiogenesis and cancer cell proliferation. Studies on the preventive effect of green tea in esophageal cancer have produced inconsistent results; however, inverse relationships of tea consumption with cancers of the stomach and colon have been widely reported. Green tea is effective to prevent dental caries and reduce cholesterols and lipids absorption in the gastrointestinal tract, thus benefits subjects with cardiovascular disorders. As tea catechins are well absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract and they interact synergistically in their disease-modifying actions, thus drinking unfractionated green tea is the most simple and beneficial way to prevent gastrointestinal disorders.

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Neurological mechanisms of green tea polyphenols in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases

Author: Orly Weinreb and Silvia Mandel and Tamar Amit and Moussa B.H. Youdim

Tea consumption is varying its status from a mere ancient beverage and a lifestyle habit, to a nutrient endowed with possible prospective neurobiological–pharmacological actions beneficial to human health. Accumulating evidence suggest that oxidative stress resulting in reactive oxygen species generation and inflammation play a pivotal role in neurodegenerative diseases, supporting the implementation of radical scavengers, transition metal (e.g., iron and copper) chelators, and nonvitamin natural antioxidant polyphenols in the clinic. These observations are in line with the current view that polyphenolic dietary supplementation may have an impact on cognitive deficits in individuals of advanced age. As a consequence, green tea polyphenols are now being considered as therapeutic agents in well controlled epidemiological studies, aimed to alter brain aging processes and to serve as possible neuroprotective agents in progressive neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. In particular, literature on the putative novel neuroprotective mechanism of the major green tea polyphenol, (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate, are examined and discussed in this review.

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Evidence for α-tocopherol regeneration reaction of green tea polyphenols in SDS micelles

Author: Bo Zhou and Long-Min Wu and Li Yang and Zhong-Li Liu

The synergistic antioxidant mechanism of α-tocopherol (vitamin E) with green tea polyphenols, i.e., (−)-epicatechin (EC), (−)-epigallocatechin (EGC), (−)-epicatechin gallate (ECG), (−)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), and gallic acid (GA), was studied by assaying the kinetics of the reaction of α-tocopheroxyl radical with green tea polyphenols by stopped-flow electron paramagnetic resonance, the inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation by these antioxidants, and the decay of α-tocopherol during the peroxidation. It was found that the green tea polyphenols could reduce α-tocopheroxyl radical to regenerate α-tocopherol with rate constants of 0.45, 1.11, 1.31, 1.91, and 0.43 × 102 M−1 s−1 for EC, EGC, ECG, EGCG, and GA, respectively, in sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles. In addition, these second-order rate constants exhibited a good linear correlation with their oxidation potentials, suggesting that electron transfer might play a role in the reaction.

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Green tea supplementation in rats of different ages mitigates ethanol-induced changes in brain antioxidant abilities

Author: Elżbieta Skrzydlewska and Agnieszka Augustyniak and Kamil Michalak and Ryszard Farbiszewski

Oxidative stress induced by chronic ethanol consumption, particularly in aging subjects, has been implicated in the pathophysiology of many neurodegenerative diseases. Antioxidants with polyphenol structures, such as those contained in green tea, given alone for 5 weeks in liquid Lieber de Carli diet followed by administration with ethanol for 4 weeks with ethanol have been investigated as potential therapeutic antioxidant agents in the brain in rats of three ages (2, 12, and 24 months). Ethanol consumption caused age-dependent decreases in brain superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and catalase activities. In addition, ethanol consumption caused age-dependent decreases in the levels of GSH, selenium, vitamins, E, A and C, and β-carotene and increases in the levels of oxidized glutathione (GSSG). Changes in the brain's antioxidative ability were accompanied by enhanced oxidative modification of lipids (increases in lipid hydroperoxides, malondialdehyde, and 4-hydroxynonenal levels) and proteins (increases in carbonyl groups and bistyrosine). Reduced risk of oxidative stress and protection of the central nervous system, particularly in young and adult rats, after green tea supplementation were observed. Green tea partially prevented changes in antioxidant enzymatic as well as nonenzymatic parameters induced by ethanol and enhanced by aging. Administration of green tea significantly protects lipids and proteins against oxidative modifications in the brain tissue of young and adult rats. The beneficial effect of green tea can result from the inhibition of free radical chain reactions generated during ethanol-induced oxidative stress and/or from green tea-induced increases in antioxidative abilities made possible by increases in the activity/concentration of endogenous antioxidants.

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Preventive action of green tea from changes in the liver antioxidant abilities of different aged rats intoxicated with ethanol

Author: Agnieszka Augustyniak and Ewa Waszkiewicz and Elżbieta Skrzydlewska

Objective The present study investigated the influence of green tea as a source of water-soluble antioxidants on the liver antioxidant potential of different aged rats chronically intoxicated with ethanol. Methods Rats (2, 12, and 24 mo old) were fed for 5 wk on a control or an ethanol Lieber-DeCarli diet with and without green tea (7 g/L). The activity and level of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants and the level of markers of protein and lipid oxidation in the liver of rats were examined. Results The activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase and levels of vitamins C, E, A, and β-carotene were significantly decreased, whereas activities of glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase and the level of reduced glutathione significantly increased during aging. The ethanol diet caused a significant decrease in activity of antioxidant enzymes and in the level of non-enzymatic antioxidants tested. Administration of green tea to ethanol-treated rats of different ages partly normalized the activity of enzymes and the level of non-enzymatic antioxidants. Changes in antioxidant ability observed during aging were accompanied by increased levels of markers of lipid and protein modifications that also were intensified by ethanol. Green tea caused a decrease in lipid and protein oxidation in aged and ethanol-treated rats. The protective effect of green tea was confirmed by the significantly lower activity of biomarkers of liver damage (alanine and aspartate aminotransferases) in the serum of rats that received green tea with ethanol compared with rats from the control ethanol group. Conclusions The use of green tea appears to be beneficial to rat liver by decreasing oxidative stress caused by ethanol and/or aging.

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