Research Database

The only comprehensive database for clinical and medical research papers on the healthy benefits of matcha/green tea

Recent Research Papers on
cancer-prevention

Modulatory effect of green tea extract on hepatic key enzymes of glucose metabolism in streptozotocin and high fat diet induced diabetic rats

Author: Ramalingam Sundaram and Rajendran Naresh and Palanivelu Shanthi and Panchanatham Sachdanandam

The study was undertaken to evaluate the antidiabetic effect of green tea extract on carbohydrate metabolic key enzymes in control and streptozotocin high fat diet -induced diabetic rats. The daily oral treatment of green tea extract (300 mg/kg body weight) to diabetic rats for 30 days resulted in a significant reduction in the levels of plasma glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and increase in the levels of insulin and hemoglobin. The altered activities of the key enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism such as hexokinase, pyruvate kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, glucose-6-phosphatase, fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glycogen synthase and glycogen phosphorylase in liver of diabetic rats were significantly reverted to near normal levels by the administration of green tea extract. Further, green tea extract administration to diabetic rats improved muscle and hepatic glycogen content suggesting the antihyperglycemic potential of green tea extract in diabetic rats. The obtained results were compared with metformin, a standard oral hypoglycemic drug. Thus, this study indicates that the administration of green tea extract to diabetic rats resulted in alterations in the metabolism of glucose with subsequent reduction in plasma glucose levels.

 

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Black and green tea – How to make a perfect crime

Author: Martina Bancirova

The antioxidant properties of the black and green tea are well known. The latent bloodstains are detectable by luminol. The bloodstains also can be cover up by drinks and foods containing the antioxidants; thus their presence can cause a decrease of the luminol light emission (false-negative results). The aim of this study was to quantify the light emission decrease of the chemiluminescent mixture prepared according to Weber (containing NaOH) and the chemiluminescent mixture of pH 7.4 (for the determination of the total antioxidant capacity) for the open air-dried sample. The black and green teas and white wine were used as the antioxidant's samples (high and low total antioxidant capacity). The significant decrease of the luminol chemiluminescent emission caused by the presence of the black and green teas (and comparable for both of them) was observed in comparison with the presence of white wine.

 

 

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Is green tea a potential trigger for autoimmune hepatitis?

Author: Eugenia Gallo and Valentina Maggini and Margherita Berardi and Alessandra Pugi and Rosario Notaro and Giulia Talini and Giancarlo Vannozzi and Siro Bagnoli and Paolo Forte and Alessandro Mugelli and Vito Annese and Fabio Firenzuoli and Alfredo Vannacci

A case of autoimmune liver hepatitis is reported: the onset was triggered by consumption of green tea infusion in a patient taking oral contraceptives and irbesartan. We hypothesize that our patient, carrying genetic variant of hepatic metabolism making her particularly susceptible to oxidative stress, developed an abnormal response to a mild toxic insult, afforded by a combination of agents (oral contraceptives + irbesartan + green tea) that normally would not be able to cause damage. Her particular hepatic metabolism further increased the drugs’ concentration, favoring the haptenization of liver proteins, eventually leading to the development of an autoimmune hepatitis.

 

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A two-stage, single-arm, phase II study of EGCG-enriched green tea drink as a maintenance therapy in women with advanced stage ovarian cancer

Author: Dominique Trudel and David P. Labbé and Monica Araya-Farias and Alain Doyen and Laurent Bazinet and Thierry Duchesne and Marie Plante and Jean Grégoire and Marie-Claude Renaud and Dimcho Bachvarov and Bernard Têtu and Isabelle Bairati

Objectives A two-stage, single-arm, phase II study was conducted to assess the effectiveness and safety of an epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)-enriched tea drink, the double-brewed green tea (DBGT), as a maintenance treatment in women with advanced stage serous or endometrioid ovarian cancer (clinicaltrials.gov, NCT00721890). Methods Eligible women had FIGO stage III-IV serous or endometrioid ovarian cancer. They had to undergo complete response after debulking surgery followed by 6 to 8 cycles of platinum/taxane chemotherapy at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec. They all had to drink the DBGT, 500 mL daily until recurrence or during a follow-up of 18 months. The primary endpoint was the absence of recurrence at 18 months. Statistical analyses were done according to the principle of intention to treat. Using a two-stage design, the first stage consisted of 16 enrolled patients. At the end of the follow-up, if 7 or fewer patients were free of recurrence, the trial stopped. Otherwise, accrual would continue to a total of 46 patients. Results During the first stage of the study, only 5 of the 16 women remained free of recurrence 18 months after complete response. Accordingly, the clinical trial was terminated. Women's adherence to DBGT was high (median daily intake during intervention, 98.1%, interquartile range: 89.7–100%), but 6 women discontinued the intervention before the end of their follow-up. No severe toxicity was reported. Conclusions DBGT supplementation does not appear to be a promising maintenance intervention in women with advanced stage ovarian cancer after standard treatment.

 

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Protection of renal function by green tea extract during Plasmodium berghei infection

Author: Voravuth Somsak and Ubonwan Jaihan and Somdet Srichairatanakool and Chairat Uthaipibull

Impairment of renal function from oxidative stress during malaria infection is one of the leading causes of death in endemic areas. Since blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels in plasma can be used as markers for monitoring renal damage, this study investigated the effect of green tea extract on reduction of blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels during malaria infection using Plasmodium berghei ANKA infected mice as in vivo model. For in vivo testing, ICR mice were infected with 1 × 10 7 parasitized erythrocytes and green tea extract was subsequently administered orally twice a day for 10 consecutive days. Parasitemia was estimated by standard microscopy, and blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels in plasma were also measured. It was found that parasitemia kept increasing until animal death, and is strongly correlated with high blood urea nitrogen and creatinine. The highest levels of blood urea nitrogen and creatinine in plasma were found on day 10 after infection. However, blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels in plasma were reduced and decreased significantly (p < 0.01) in green tea extract treated mice, compared with untreated group. It can be concluded that green tea extract can protect and maintain renal function during malaria infection, and this extract can be developed for use as a supplement and combination therapy.

 

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Modulation of signaling pathways in prostate cancer by green tea polyphenols

Author: Naghma Khan and Hasan Mukhtar

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common malignancy found in American men and the risk factors for PCa include age, family history, ethnicity, hormonal status, diet and lifestyle. For the successful development of cancer-preventive/therapeutic approaches, consumption of dietary agents capable of inhibiting or delaying the growth and proliferation of cancer cells without significantly affecting normal cells could be an effective strategy. Polyphenols derived from green tea, termed as green tea polyphenols (GTP) have received great attention in recent years for their beneficial effects, in particular, their significant involvement in cancer chemoprevention and chemotherapy. Several studies have reported beneficial effects of GTP using in vitro and in vivo approaches and in human clinical trials. Among green tea catechins, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is best studied for its cancer preventive properties. In this review article, we present available scientific literature about the effects of GTP and EGCG on signaling pathways in PCa.

 

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Oxidative stability and rheological properties of nanoemulsions with ultrasonic extracted green tea infusion

Author: Anna Lante and Dario Friso

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is considered the most significant tea catechin because it has the highest free radical scavenging activity and because of its role in preventing carcinogenesis. Thus, adding green tea infusion to food products imparts a safe, natural antioxidant that prevents rancidity and promotes good health. Even if mild technologies could be developed to optimize the extraction of EGCG from green tea, questions remain regarding the best means of delivering EGCG through food and its disposition in the body after ingestion. Recent reports indicate that the bioavailability of EGCG is very poor due to its large molecular size and number of hydrogen bonds. The present study demonstrates the use of ultrasound to extract catechins from green tea leaves with improved EGCG yield, and subsequent preparation of water-in-oil (W/O) green tea nanoemulsions with soy, peanut, sunflower, and corn oils. The green tea/peanut oil emulsion displayed the highest oxidative stability. All W/O emulsions examined demonstrated a shear thinning behavior in good agreement with the Carreau model (R2 = 0.980 ± 0.033). Values for shear viscosity at a shear rate of 10 s−1 were found to be compatible with the semi-empirical equation of Larson and McClements, with an effective volume fraction slightly higher than the actual volume fraction and still increasing with homogenization time. Moreover, the specific surface area of the nanoemulsions was very high and with an average value of about 40 m2/mL.

 

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Immobilization of green tea extract on polypropylene films to control the antioxidant activity in food packaging

Author: Carol López de Dicastillo and María del Mar Castro-López and José Manuel López-Vilariño and María Victoria González-Rodríguez

In this work, we report the successful immobilization of green tea extract, as a natural antioxidant, on polypropylene through the incorporation of anhydride maleic grafted polypropylene on polymer formulation owing to control active compound release and prolong antioxidant activity. The extruded films were thermally characterized showing that the incorporation of green tea extract improved polymer stability, and the presence of grafted polymer did not affect polymer morphology. Green tea components release profiles depending on the type of food and polymer formulation. The use of grafted polypropylene changed the ability of the polymer to release green tea antioxidants; the amount of components released decreased with an increasing degree of grafted polypropylene. Materials were submitted to sterilization and microwave heating conditions. The immobilization of the active compounds implied a lower release during these typical food package treatments, and the available antioxidant components on the modified materials presented a good correlation with the antiradical activity toward ABTS+ radicals, prolonging their antioxidant ability.

 

 

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Influence of addition of green tea and green coffee extracts on the properties of fine yeast pastry fried products

Author: Grażyna Budryn and Dorota Żyżelewicz and Ewa Nebesny and Joanna Oracz and Wiesława Krysiak

This study investigated the influence of antioxidants of green tea aqueous extract (GTE) and green coffee aqueous extract (GCE) in concentrations of 0.25, 0.5 and 1 g·100 g− 1 on the nutritional properties of fine yeast pastry fried products such as donuts. Yeast donuts were made according to the traditional processing technology. In fried donuts physical properties (water activity, pH, hardness and color with the use of instrumental methods) as well as sensory properties were established. Moreover, quality of fat extracted from donuts (composition of fatty acids and peroxide value), content of acrylamide, composition of polyphenols and antioxidant activity were analyzed. Obtained extracts of GTE and GCE contained 26 and 41% of polyphenols, respectively, and the degree of polyphenol degradation during production of donuts was less when the dilution in dough was greater. Both tests indicated that the highest antioxidant activity had donuts with the highest analyzed addition of extract, however depending on the applied test or GTE or GCE had better antioxidant properties. Fatty acid composition was the most beneficial when the addition of GTE and GCE was on a level of 0.25 and 0.5 g·100 g− 1, respectively. In fried donuts relatively low amounts of acrylamide were obtained, amounting to 18–46 μg·kg− 1. Only the lowest addition of GTE and the highest addition of GCE caused an increase of acrylamide content in donuts, while all other levels of added extracts caused a decrease in the content of formed acrylamide.

 

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Stability of catechins in green tea nutraceutical products: Application of solid phase extraction–thin layer chromatography densitometry

Author: Heba-Alla H. Abd-ElSalam and Medhat A. Al-Ghobashy and Hala E. Zaazaa and Mohamed A. Ibrahim

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is a powerful antioxidant and commonly used nutraceutical. Accelerated stability of EGCG in tablet formulations was investigated. LLE and SPE were employed for sample clean-up and enrichment of EGCG over caffeine. Samples were analysed after spiking with fixed concentration of gallic acid (GA), in order to verify reproducibility of analysis. A TLC–densitometric assay was developed and validated for determination of % loss EGCG. EGCG, GA and caffeine were resolved with Rf values 0.54, 0.69 and 0.80, respectively. LC–MS/MS was used to verify identity and purity of the EGCG band. Determination was carried out over a concentration range of 0.50–5.00 μg/band and 0.20–2.40 μg/band for GA and caffeine, respectively. Results showed significant reduction in EGCG content after one, three and six months: 24.00%, 28.00% and 52.00% respectively. Results continue to demonstrate that stability of nutraceutical products should be investigated in-depth using industry-oriented protocols before granting marketing authorisation.

 

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Other Popular Research Topics

Cognitive Function

Cognitive Function

Matcha consumption leads to much higher intake of green tea phytochemicals compared to regular green tea. Previous research on caffeine, L-theanine, and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) repeatedly demonstrated benefits on cognitive performance.

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Heart Health

Heart Health

According to Harvard Medical School, “lowering your risk of cardiovascular disease may be as easy as drinking green tea. Studies suggest this light, aromatic tea may lower LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, which may be responsible for the tea's association with reduced risk of death from heart disease and stroke.”

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Mental Health

Mental Health

Matcha contains an amino acid called L-theanine, which has been shown to reduce physiological and psychological stresses. L-theanine also improves cognition and mood in a synergistic manner with caffeine, and promotes alpha wave production in the brain

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Immunity

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.

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