Green Tea Compound Stops Alzheimer's Disease-Like
​Symptoms In Mice
There may be hope for Alzheimer’s Disease-prone people.  An active compound found in green tea has prevented Alzheimer's disease-like brain damage in mice, a recent research has reported.
 
The compound, called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), was found to have decreased the production of the protein beta-amyloid, which accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer's patients and causes nerve damage and memory loss.
 
Senior researcher Dr. Jun Tan, director of the Neuroimmunology Laboratory at the University of Florida said that their findings suggest that a concentrated component of green tea can decrease brain beta-amyloid plaque formation.
 
Reporting in the Sept. 21 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, the research team worked with mice genetically programmed to develop a disease mimicking Alzheimer's Disease in humans.
 
The mice received daily injections of EGCG for several months and showed as much as a 54% reduction in the formation of brain-clogging beta-amyloid plaques.  It appears that EGCG prevents the initial process that leads to beta-amyloid formation in brain cells, the researchers said.
 
"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," Tan said.
 
The researchers will next study whether multiple oral doses of EGCG improve memory loss in mice with Alzheimer's.
 
"If those studies show clear cognitive benefits, we believe clinical trials of EGCG to treat Alzheimer's disease would be warranted," Tan said.
 
This is therefore another potential feather that can be added to the already impressive health credentials that green tea currently possesses.
"Tea comforts the spirit, banishes passivity, lightens the body, and adds sparkle to the eyes." 
~ Shen Nong,
   Chinese mythical sage
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