EGCG (Polyphenol Epigallocatechin Gallate), Could it stop the formation of beta-amyloid plaques?
Honor Whiteman posted an article to Medical News Today last week about Alzheimer’s prevention base lined around a new study done by Giuseppe Melacini and colleagues, of the Departments of Biochemistry, Chemistry and Chemical Biology at McMaster University in Canada, about how a compound, EGCG, found in green tea can combat the formation of amyloid plaques, a toxic plaque predominant in and used to marker Alzheimer’s disease.
BUT, HOW DOES “EGCG” WORK?
When targeted to the brain, EGCG works by interfering with the function of beta-amyloid oligomers, small aggregates of amyloid beta protein that over time can populate and unlike a healthy brain that breaks down and eliminates amyloids, become sticky and disrupt the communication between nerve cells in the brain. Researchers in the study described EGCG as a “remodeler” or beta-amyloid oligomers, stopping them from becoming toxic amyloid plaques.
“At the molecular level,” Melacini says, “we believe EGCG coats toxic oligomers and changes their ability to grow and interact with healthy cells.” In their publication, published to the Journal of the American Chemical Society (J.A.C.S.) it is noted that this compound “effectively reduces the cytotoxicity of the Alzheimer’s disease β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) by remodeling seeding-competent Aβ oligomers into off-pathway seeding-incompetent Aβ assemblies.” Melachini says, if EGCG is extracted from green tea or it’s derivatives, this could be a very helpful, preventative way to lower your risk of Alzheimer’s before symptoms set in.
There was a study done by Professor Yun Bai, from the Department of Medical Genetics at Third Military Medical University in China, that tested the effects of EGCG on the brains of two groups of mice. A group of mice with EGCG and a control group. “We proposed that EGCG can improve cognitive function by impacting the generation of neuron cells, a process known as neurogenesis,” said Bai. “We focused our research on the hippocampus, the part of the brain which processes information from short-term to long-term memory”. Although EGCG is usually just known as a anti-oxidant, the team believed it could also have benefits of fighting against age-related degenerative diseases, and based on their research they were right! EGCG markedly improved spatial cognition in mice. They discovered that the reason for this occurrence was associated with the sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling pathway.
EGCG triggered a “robust upregulation of Shh receptor (Patched) mRNA and protein expression in cultured NPCs as well as an upregulation of the downstream Shh transcriptional target Gli1”.
Dr. Mercola, from mercola.com posted an article about the health benefits of green tea for the brain as well. They mention heart health, lowering blood glucose levels to prevent type 2 diabetes, weight loss, bone health, vision health, protecting your eyes from glaucoma, decreasing your risk of certain cancers like ovarian and breast cancer, acting as a energy boost and others. Touching on,
WHY IS GREEN TEA SO HELPFUL? WHY IS IT SO DIFFERENT THAN OTHER TEAS?
Dr. Mercola explains in her article, that Green tea is rich in naturally occurring plant compounds called polyphenols. This is what accounts for up to 30 percent of its dry leaf weight and within that group of polyphenols you have epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a catechin. She compares it to black tea. “Like black tea, green tea also contains L-theanine, an amino acid that crosses the blood-brain barrier and has psychoactive properties”. Theanine increases levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), serotonin, dopamine, and alpha wave activity, and may reduce mental and physical stress and produce feelings of relaxation.
So, I know what you’re doing by now:
But, wait. There’s more!
YOU CAN EVEN BOOST THE EFFECTS OF YOUR GREEN TEA!
Next time you’re choosing which tea to drink, go for green tea, oolong’s and black teas. To boost the benefits of green tea, add a squirt of lemon juice to your cup. Previous research has demonstrated that vitamin C significantly increased the amount of catechins available for your body to absorb. Dr. Mercola shares on her site that, “citrus juice increased available catechin levels by more than five times” in a study performed, causing 80 percent of tea’s catechins to remain bioavailable. On the other hand, it is not recommended to add milk, says Mercola. The proteins in milk may bind to and neutralize the antioxidants in tea, such that its health benefits are significantly reduced.
So, on a final note. Stay healthy. Stay informed. And continue to invest in your body. It’s yours!
Work Cited
Yanyan Wang, Maoquan Li, Xueqing Xu, Min Song, Huansheng Tao, Yun Bai, ‘Green tea epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) promotes neural progenitor cell proliferation and sonic hedgehog pathway activation during adult hippocampal neurogenesis,” Mol. Nutr. Food Res., Wiley, 2012, DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.201200035
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