Green tea extracts and Parkinson's

A new study suggests the antioxidant effects of green tea polyphenols may protect neurons against the detrimental effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO), thereby offering potential benefits for sufferers of Parkinson's disease.

The study, published in Biological Psychiatry (Elsevier), was conducted using laboratory rats and looked at the effects of green tea polyphenols (GTP) in inhibiting the death of neurons induced by certain neurotoxins.

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative condition affecting movement and balance in more than one million Americans each year.  That figure is expected to rise continually due to an aging population.  According to information in the article, Parkinson’s disease is caused by an unrelenting process of cell death affecting the neurons containing pigmented dopamine.

Green tea contains between 30 and 40 per cent of water-extractable polyphenols, while black tea (green tea that has been allowed to fully oxidize through the fermentation process) contains between 3 and 10 per cent.

The four primary polyphenols found in fresh tealeaves are epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin gallate (ECG), and epicatechin (EC).

The mix used in this new study contained 50 per cent EGCG, 22 per cent ECG, 18 per cent EGC, and 10 per cent EC (Sichuan Full-green Biology Technology).

John Krystal, who is the editor of Biological Psychiatry and affiliated with both Yale University School of Medicine and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System said, "If green tea consumption can be shown to have meaningful neuroprotective actions in patients, this would be an extremely important advance."

Source: Biological Psychiatry (Elsevier)
15 December 2007, Volume 62, Issue 12, Pages 1353-1362
"Protective Effects of Green Tea Polyphenols in the 6-OHDA Rat Model of Parkinson's Disease Through Inhibition of ROS-NO Pathway"
Authors: Shuhong Guo, J. Yan, T. Yang, X. Yang, E. Bezard and B. Zhao

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