04-25-2008, 11:56 AM
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Propecia, CA
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Green Tea vs. Alzheimer's Disease
Quote:
Green tea's Alzheimer protection gets more support
By Stephen Daniells
4/25/2008- Green tea catechins may inhibit the loss of reference and working memory linked to plaque formation in the brain, say research from Japan, adding to claims that the beverage may help ward off Alzheimer's.
The study focused on the role of antioxidant potential of green tea and its constituents to counter the oxidative stress induced by a build up of beta-amyloid protein.
The build-up of plaque from beta-amyloid deposits is associated with an increase in brain cell damage and death from oxidative stress. This is related to a loss of cognitive function and an increased risk of Alzheimer's, the most common form of dementia and currently affects over 13 million people worldwide.
The direct and indirect cost of Alzheimer care is over $100 bn (� 81 bn) in the US, while direct costs in the UK are estimated at �15 bn (� 22 bn).
The new study, published in the April issue of the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, reports the effects of green tea extracts in the form of Mitsui Norin's commercial Polyphenon E (PE) on the cognitive learning ability of rats.
The concentration of catechins was classified as 63 per cent EGCG, 11 per cent epicatechin (EC), six per cent epigallocatechin (EGC), and six per cent epicatechin gallate (ECG).
"Our results suggest that long-term administration of PE prevents cognitive deficits caused by oxidative stress, beta-amyloid-induced and/or otherwise, at least by facilitating antioxidative defences," wrote lead author Abdul Haque from Shimane University Faculty of Medicine
Despite the promising results, as well as a substantial body of epidemiological studies reporting a protective effect of green tea for Alzheimer's, the researchers stressed that further research was required, particularly to clarify the mechanism. Moreover, it is not known if such results would be repeatable in humans.
Study details
Haque and co-workers took five-week old Wistar rats and randomly assigned them to one of two groups - one acted as the control group and received no tea extract, while the other group has its drinking water supplemented with 0.5 per cent PE. After 26 weeks, an eight-arm radial maze was used to test the animals' learning ability.
Twenty weeks later, the two groups were divided again into two, one to continue as before, while the other groups were infused with beta-amyloid protein to induce oxidative stress.
The animals receiving the green tea extract should significantly decreased beta-amyloid-induced changes to the reference and working memory, while levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were 42 per cent less than the controls animals infused with the protein.
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