A new study has suggested that green tea may protect brain cells
against Parkinson's disease.
Chinese researchers examined the effects of green tea
polyphenols, a group of naturally occurring chemical substances
found in plants that have antioxidant properties, in an animal
model of Parkinson's disease.
Corresponding and senior author Dr. Baolu Zhao, of the Institute
of Biophysics, Academia Sinica in Beijing said previous research
has indicated that green tea possesses neuroprotective effects.
After investigating the animal model, Zhao and colleagues
discovered that green tea polyphenols protect dopamine neurons and
the effect increases with the amount consumed.
They also showed that this protective effect is mediated by
inhibition of the ROS-NO pathway -- a pathway that may contribute
to cell death in Parkinson's.
Zhao said he hoped eventually "green tea polyphenols may be
developed into a safe and easily administrable drug for Parkinson's
disease."
The findings are published in the journal Biological
Psychiatry.
Parkinson's disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder of
the central nervous system, resulting from the loss of
dopamine-producing brain cells, and there is presently no cure.
(Agencies via China Daily December 24, 2007)
