green tea and mental health
Targeting Multiple Neurodegenerative Diseases Etiologies with Multimodal-Acting Green Tea Catechins J. Nutr. 138: 1578S–1583S, 2008.
Silvia A. Mandel,* Tamar Amit, Limor Kalfon, Lydia Reznichenko, and Moussa B. H. Youdim Eve Topf
Abstract
Green tea is currently considered a source of dietary constituents endowed with biological and pharmacological activities relevant to human health. Human epidemiological and new animal data suggest that the pharmacological benefits of tea drinking may help to protect the brain as we age. Indeed, tea consumption is inversely correlated with the incidence of dementia and Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. In particular, its main catechin polyphenol constituent (2)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate has been shown to exert neuroprotective/neurorescue activities in a wide array of cellular and animal models of neurological disorders. The intense efforts dedicated in recent years to shed light on the molecular mechanisms participating in the brain protective action of green tea indicate that in addition to the known antioxidant activity of catechins, the modulation of signal transduction pathways, cell survival/death genes, and mitochondrial function all contribute significantly to the induction of neuron viability. Because of the multietiological character of neurodegenerative disease pathology, these natural compounds are receiving significant attention as therapeutic cytoprotective agents that simultaneously manipulate multiple desired targets in the central nervous system. This article elaborates on the multimodal activities of green tea polyphenols with emphasis on their recently described neurorescue/neuroregenerative and mitochondrial stabilization actions.
“The primary focus of this study was accomplished in vitro and animal models, but has since recieved funding from the Micheal J. Fox foundation to have a double blind clinical trial performed. The results of this study suggest that as little as 3 cups of green tea each day can have a protective effect on brain cells and nerves. A prospective cohort study followed 30,000 Finnish adults for 13 years to obtain further data. This is truly a powerful study due to size and results.” – Josh Smith