An ingredient found in the natural supplement green tea may help treat brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s and Parkinson’s.

According to a study published in Natural Chemical Biology, mixing EGCG, a green tea ingredient, with the chemical DAPH-12 may help destroy amyloids—proteins that can lead to brain diseases.

Some feel this study is significant as no other research has found a chemical combination to destroy amyloids. Researchers found that while EGCG could destroy weaker amyloids on its own, it needed to be mixed with DAPH-12 to destroy the stronger proteins.

While the researchers said they were excited with the outcome of finding a potential way to treat the diseases, they are quick to point out there is still more research to be done to see if they could find other possible solutions.

“Our findings are certainly preliminary and we need further work to fully comprehend the effects of EGCG in combination with other chemicals on amyloids,” said co-author Dr. Martin Duennwald. “Yet, we see our study as a very exciting initial step toward combinatorial therapies for the treatment of amyloid-based diseases.”

Elderly people who drink several cups of green tea a day were less likely to suffer from depression, probably due to a “feel good” chemical found in this type of tea, Japanese researchers said.

Several studies have linked drinking green tea to lessening psychological problems and Dr Kaijun Niu, of Tohoku University Graduate School, and colleagues found men and women aged 70 and older who drank four or more cups of green tea daily were 44 per cent less likely to have symptoms of depression.

Green tea is widely consumed in many Asian countries, including China and Japan.

Dr Niu and the team investigated 1058 relatively healthy elderly men and women.

About 34 per cent of the men and 39 per cent of the women had symptoms of depression, according to the study that was published in the December issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

A total of 488 participants said they drank four or more cups of green tea a day, 284 said they downed two to three cups daily and the rest reported having one or fewer cups daily.

According to the researchers, the apparent effect of drinking more green tea on alleviating symptoms of depression did not fade after they factored in social and economic status, gender, diet, history of medical problems and use of antidepressants.

By contrast, there was no association between consumption of black or oolong tea, or coffee, and lower symptoms of depression.

A green tea component, the amino acid theanine, which is thought to have a tranquillising effect on the brain, may explain the “potentially beneficial effect” shown in the current study, Dr Niu noted.

However, further studies were needed to confirm whether greater green tea intake actually had antidepressant effects, the researchers said.

According to a study published in Natural Chemical Biology, when EGCG, a green tea ingredient mixed with chemical DAPH-12, it may help destroy amyloids, which are proteins that bring on the brain diseases.

Some feel this study is significant as no other research has found a chemical combination to destroy amyloids. Researchers found that while EGCG could destroy weaker amyloids on their own, it needed to be mixed with DAPH-12 to destroy the stronger proteins.

While the researchers said they were excited with the outcome of finding a potential way to treat the diseases, they are quick to point out there is still more research to be done to see if they could find other possible solutions.

“Our findings are certainly preliminary and we need further work to fully comprehend the effects of EGCG in combination with other chemicals on amyloids,” said co-author Dr. Martin Duennwald. “Yet, we see our study as a very exciting initial step towards combinatorial therapies for the treatment of amyloid-based diseases.”

Figures from the American Cancer Society show that more than 35,720 Americans are expected to be diagnosed with oral and/or pharynx cancer in 2009 and the five year survival rate is less than 50 per cent.

Previous clinical studies have showed mixed results with trying to measure the effectiveness of green tea as a cancer prevention agent, although as the authors wrote in their background information:

“Epidemiologic and preclinical data support the oral cancer prevention potential of green tea extract.”

So they set up a Phase II dose-finding trial, purported to be the first study of its kind, to examine green tea as a chemopreventative agent in this high-risk patient population.

The results showed that more than half of the patients with oral leukoplakia who took the green tea extract had a clinical response.

Papadimitrakopoulou told the press that:

“While still very early, and not definitive proof that green tea is an effective preventive agent, these results certainly encourage more study for patients at highest risk for oral cancer.”

“The extract’s lack of toxicity is attractive – in prevention trials, it’s very important to remember that these are otherwise healthy individuals and we need to ensure that agents studied produce no harm,” she explained.

For the study, between August 2002 and March 2008, Papadimitrakopoulou and colleagues randomized 41 oral leukoplakia patients from the MD Anderson Cancer Center to receive either green tea extract or placebo.

In the extract group, patients received the extract orally for three months at one of three doses: 500 per meter squared of body mass (mg/m2); 750 mg/m2 or 1,000 mg/m2, taken three times a day.

Just before they started taking the doses all patients underwent a biopsy, and then had another 12 weeks later. The authors said this was the best way to assess biomarkers and formed an important and crucial part of the study design.

First author Dr Anne Tsao, assistant professor in the Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology at MD Anderson said:

“Collecting oral tissue biopsies was essential in that it allowed us to learn that not only did the green tea extract appear to have benefit for some patients, but we pointed to anti-angiogenic effects as a potential mechanism of action.”

“While preliminary because our patient population was so small, this gives us direction for further study,” she added.

The results showed that:

• Of the patients taking the highest two doses of green tea extract, 58.8 per cent had a clinical response.
• This compared with 36.4 per cent of those taking the lowest dose, and 18.2 per cent of those taking placebo.
• After a mean extended follow up period of 27.5 months, 15 of the participants had developed oral cancer, with a median time to disease development of 46.4 months.
• The patients treated with green tea extract also showed improved histology , although this was shown not to be statistically significant (21.4 per cent versus 9.1 per cent in the placebo group; P = 0.65).
• Green tea extract was well tolerated, although those on the highest doses had increased insomnia/nervousness, it produced no grade 4 toxicity, wrote the authors.

The authors also reported that green tea extract showed a trend toward improvement in a number, but not all, of the biomarkers that play an important role in predicting cancer development.

They concluded that green tea extract may suppress oral pre-malignant lesions, in part through reducing angiogenic stimulus through its effect on stromal vascular endothelial growth factor (stromal VEGF).

Higher doses of green tea extract may also improve short-term (12-week) outcomes on oral pre-malignant lesions, they wrote, and suggested that:

“The present results support longer-term clinical testing of GTE [green tea extract] for oral cancer prevention.”

Papadimitrakopoulo said:

“While these are encouraging findings, much more research must be done before we can conclude that green tea may prevent oral or any other type of cancer.”

“It’s also important to remind people that this trial enrolled very few participants who, at the highest dose levels took the equivalent of eight cups of green tea three times a day,” she added, explaining that they still need to “further understand if green tea offers longer-term prevention effects for patients.”

Papadimitrakopoulo and Tsao suggest that further research on the effects of green tea extract in this high-risk population should concentrate on participants taking it for a longer period.

The researchers also wished to point out that the green tea extract they used in the study was not available over the counter or on the Internet, neither commercial sources being highly regulated. They used a compound that had been developed exclusively as a pharmaceutical agent.

The study done by researchers in Hong Kong and published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry finds that EGC, a main compound in green tea, boosted the activity of a key enzyme that promotes bone growth by up to 79 percent.

EGC also significantly boosted levels of bone mineralization in the cells, which strengthens bones.
Researcher Ping Chung Leung notes that previous studies have already linked green tea to improved bone health, but says that few have been able to pinpoint the exact chemicals that are responsible for it.

The study suggests that increased consumption of green tea can prevent and treat osteoporosis and other bone diseases that affect millions worldwide.

In the U.S. today, 10 million individuals are estimated to already have osteoporosis and almost 34 million more are believed to be at an increased risk for the disease.

Muscle-strengthening exercise, as well as proper intake of calcium and vitamin D through food or nutritional health supplements have all been shown to lower the risk of developing osteoporosis.

Non-invasive phototherapy has been used to treat skin imperfections for decades, but German scientists believe combining it with antioxidant-rich great tea lotion will take the treatment to a new level by eliminating potentially harmful reactive oxygen species produced by light therapy.

In the study, the researchers applied a daily combination of LED light and green tea cream to the wrinkles of a human volunteer for one month and found it produced smoother skin, including “less pronounced wrinkle levels, shorter wrinkle valleys and juvenile complexion,” they say.

The results prompted them to hail the experiment as opening a new way to effective, safe and non-surgical rejuvenation programs, in addition to shedding new light on the impact reactive oxygen species have on cellular aging.

Those looking for ways to boost their immunity and a preserve youthful appearance may also benefit from antioxidant nutritional supplements.