GREEN TEA EXTRACT
COMMON NAME : Green
Tea
LATIN NAME : Camellia
sinensis
ACTIVE SUBSTANCES :
catechins, especially (-) Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG)
DESCRIPTION : Green
tea is natural dried leaves of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. Black tea
is oxidized green tea. Both have been used for thousands of years in Asia,
as beverage and medicine. Green tea extract is a bioflavonoid-rich, potent
extract which is used primarily for fighting free radicals. It has a high
content of polyphenols, which are a class of bioflavonoids.
PHYSIOLOGY : The
polyphenols in green tea are catechins, with multiple linked ring-like
structures. Polyphenols are a form of bioflavonoids with several phenol
groups. They control both taste and biological action. The dominant and
most important catechin in green tea is (-) Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG),
a potent antioxidant which is used for food production, as well as in
animal research studies. The phenol groups capture pro-oxidants and free
radicals. EGCG is over 200 times more powerful than vitamin E in
neutralizing the pro-oxidants and free radicals that attack lipids in the
brain, in vivo. It is 20 times more potent than vitamin E in reducing
formation of peroxides in lard by the Active Oxygen Method, in vitro.
ACTIVE PROPERTIES :
Green tea extract is used primarily for its free radical fighting
capabilities, but has a wide range of applications. Its key ingredient,(-)
Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG), protects against digestive and
respiratory infections. (A solution of 1 mcg per ml of EGCG heavily
inhibited influenza virus in vitro.) It helps block the cancer-promoting
actions of carcinogens, ultraviolet light, and metastasis from an original
site in the skin, stomach, small intestine, liver or lung. Higher
quantities (0.5% to 1% of diet) were protective against high total and LDL-cholesterol
levels on a cholesterol promoting diet in rats. Crude catechins at 0.5% of
diet were effective in lowering blood pressures in spontaneously
hypertensive rats. (Both EGCG and black tea catechins suppressed
angiotensin I converting enzyme, which causes essential hypertension.)
EGCG also reduces platelet aggregation about as much as aspirin or Ginkgo
biloba extract. Green tea is very effective in inhibiting pathogenic
bacteria that cause food poisoning, but increases levels of acidophilus
(friendly) bacteria. 500 mg catechins (>= 250 mg EGCG) daily
regularized bowel habits significantly. Green tea also blocks the
attachment of the bacteria associated with dental caries to the teeth.
DIRECTIONS FOR USE :
250 to 500 mg EGCG content daily, or as desired. Usage ranges from 250 mg
to 2.5 g per day of EGCG content in studies reporting significant results.
TOXICITY, CAUTIONS & CONTRA-INDICATIONS
: Green tea extract is non-toxic both in acute
dosage and high long-term dosage (no significant effect on weight gain at
2% of the diet in 3 months in rats). It has no potential for causing
mutations or birth defects, and has no adverse effect on fertility,
pregnancy or nursing.
HISTORICAL USES :
• Used primarily for its free radical fighting capabilities
• EGCG protects against digestive and respiratory infections
• Helps block the cancer-promoting actions of carcinogens, ultraviolet
light, and metastasis
• High total and LDL-cholesterol levels
• High blood pressure (suppresses angiotensin I converting enzyme)
• Reduces platelet aggregation
• Inhibiting pathogenic bacteria that cause food poisoning
• Blocks the attachment of the bacteria associated with dental caries to
the teeth