Brain power foundation blog

Green tea extract may ward off Alzheimer's

The number of health benefits attributed to the active constituents of green tea continues to grow. Most recently, scientists writing in The Journal of Neuroscience reported on green tea’s possible role in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Researchers looking at epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), an antioxidant found in green tea, say the polyphenol shows promise as a preventative or treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in humans. The researchers said the effects they observed may derive from an EGCG extract rather than from the tea itself.

The team from the University of South Florida gave daily EGCG injections (20mg/kg) over a period of 60 days to a group of five mice that were specially bred to be Alzheimer’s prone, with another five mice receiving a placebo.

When the mice’s brains were studied, those that had received the EGCG had greatly reduced buildup of the protein beta-amyloid, compared to the control mice. When it causes plaque in the brain, this protein can lead to nerve damage and memory loss characteristic of AD.

“The findings suggest that a concentrated component of green tea can decrease brain beta-amyloid plaque formation,” said senior study author Dr. Jun Tan. “If beta-amyloid pathology in this Alzheimer’s mouse model is representative of Alzheimer’s disease pathology in humans, EGCG dietary supplementation may be effective in preventing and treating the disease.”

The Journal of Neuroscience 25(38):8807-8814, 2005