As you may already know, green tea is a type of tea from the country of origin, China. It is often used as an antioxidant and nutrient for your body. It is made from Camellia sinensis leaves that have not undergone the same withering and oxidation process used to make oolong and black tea. Green tea also contains the ingredient MGCG, which stands for Polyphenol Epigallocatechin Gallate. Recent studies say that the MGCG found in Green tea leaves can stop the formation of a key factor, beta amyloid plaques, used in the determination of Alzheimer’s disease. But, don’t worry you’ll understand just what that means with the help of a little experiment. But first, What is Alzheimer’s disease?
Alzheimer’s is a neurological/brain disease that alters chromosome 21 in our bodies and causes the recipient to suffer from extreme memory loss, confusion, and ultimately death. Scientists are still unclear as to why people get the disease, but recent studies suggest that there is a connection between Alzheimer’s and poor diet. Amyloids are groups of proteins within us, that become folded into a shape that allows many copies of that protein to stick together forming fibrils (small/slender fibers). Amyloid plaques are sticky buildup which grows outside nerve cells, or neurons. For reasons still unknown, in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), the protein divides improperly, creating a form called beta amyloid which is toxic to neurons in the brain.
Within a recent study found, EGCG, a compound found in green tea, can stop the formation of amyloid plaques, which is a huge deal for those trying to lower their risk of AD as they age. This study was done by Giuseppe Melacini and colleagues, of the Departments of Biochemistry, Chemistry and Chemical Biology at McMaster University in Canada. It has been said for many years that the compounds found in the green tea leaves have powerful effects on our bodies health and working positively on our system.
Here, we will do an easy experiment that you can try at home to see the antioxidants content of the green tea using:
- Hot water
- White rice
- Green tea leaves. You can find this at your local health food store, or target, theteaspot.com, Walmart or Full Leaf Tea Company.
- And tincture of iodine as a strong oxidant agent. You can find tincture of iodine at Walgreens, or Walmart.
The below video will take you through the steps. Try this at home, and always use caution, and handle ingredients with care. Watch the effects that green tea has on the body vs. water.
What takes place is an oxidation-reduction (redox) reaction Which is a type of chemical reaction that involves a transfer of electrons between two species. An oxidation-reduction reaction is any chemical reaction in which the oxidation number of a molecule, atom, or ion changes by gaining or losing an electron. These reactions take place in the body cells and are important for the production of energy, namely ATP.
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