Green Teas EGCG inhibits resistin: a hormone involved with metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and heart disease

Resistin is known as a hormone that specifically affects fat cells causing to a degree metabolic syndrome - that cluster of conditions that leads to diabetes and heart disease. The cluster of conditions in metabolic syndrome includes high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity. Resistin is known to cause insulin resistance in fat cells and this is a major contributing factor to the onset of type 2 diabetes. EGHCG, the major polyphenol in Green Tea, inhibits the RNA needed for resistin activity by about 50% within 3 hours after supplementation. The RNA half-life was decreased from 12 hours to 3 hours in the presence of EGCG meaning that the time resistin had to achieve higher concentrations was cut by 75%. This may be one of the ways that EGCG and Green Tea inhibit obesity and helps prevent diabetes. The study is published in the September 2005 issue of the American Journal of Physiology, Endocrinology, and Metabolism.

Commentary by Jerry Hickey, R.Ph.

Do not just depend on medication to lower your cholesterol, focus on diet and nutrition and include plant sterol containing foods or plant sterol containing supplements as part of your daily healthy lifestyle.

More evidence that Green Tea Extract protects the brain from or during Alzheimer's disease

Beta-amyloid protein is largely responsible for the progressive damage in Alzheimer's disease. Several lines of evidence show that the brain cell death caused by beta-amyloid is caused by rampaging free radical activity. Our (these researchers) previous studies demonstrate that Green Tea Extract prevents brain tissue cell death due to a stroke by acting as a powerful antioxidant. In this study, brain cells treated with beta-amyloid protein showed elevated free radical activity, damage to brain cell DNA, and brain cell death. Beta-amyloid activated cellular executioners and in fact the more beta-amyloid protein used the worse was the brain cell death. If the cells were treated with Green Tea Extract at the same time they were exposed to beta-amyloid protein it protected the brain cells from dying and the higher the concentration of Green Tea extract the greater it protected the brain cells from Alzheimer's beta-amyloid protein. Green Tea Extract decreased free radical activity, inhibited brain cell inflammation, protected brain DNA and prevented it from being damaged and the Green Tea Extract inhibited brain cell executioners while increasing cell protecting gene activity. "Our study suggests that Green Tea Extract may usefully prevent or retard the development and progression of Alzheimer's disease". The study is published electronically ahead of print, September 6th, 2005 in the journal Brain Research: Molecular Brain Research.

EGCG from Green Tea may be active against a broad range of digestive tract cancers

EGCG from Green Tea has the ability to prevent the conversion of cells into cancerous cells (anti-neoplastic activity). This study is performed to find the sites where EGCG kills cancer cells and to provide a basis of EGCG having a clinical application in the treatment of cancers. Eight different digestive tract cancer cell lines were treated with EGCG (two colon cancer cell lines and six gastric cancer cell lines). EGCG was able to kill all eight digestive tract cancer cell lines and the higher the concentration of EGCG the greater was its ability to destroy the cancer cells. EGCG inhibited the ability of the cancer cells to grow indefinitely by suppressing telomerase activity. The study is published in the August 2005 issue of the Chinese Medical Journal.