Title:In the Rush for Green Gold: Can Green Tea Delay Age-Progressive Brain Neurodegeneration?
Volume: 7
Issue: 3
Author(s): Silvia A. Mandel and Moussa B.H. Youdim
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Alzheimer's disease, combination therapy, green tea polyphenols, hypoxia inducible factor, iron chelation, neuroprotection/ neurorescue, Parkinson's disease, Green tea, Flavonoids, green tea catechins
Abstract: It is evident that brain aging engages changes in biological systems linked to synaptic function and cell metabolism
and in the capacity to cope with different stresses that are either idiopathic in nature, or subject to environmental insults.
In a substantial segment of the aging population there is a pathological transition to cognitive and behavioral dysfunction
and thus, age constitutes the primary risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.
To address the etiological complexity of aging and age-associated conditions, a new paradigm gaining increasing acceptance
considers the use of multi-targeted ligands or combination of drugs to modulate several targets at once. During the
past years intensive efforts are dedicated to the implementation of life style habits such as exercise and dietary compounds/
supplements in combination with symptomatic treatment drugs to improve age-related cognitive decline and to attenuate
motor and neurological dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases. The catechin polyphenols constituents of green
tea, which were for long time regarded merely as dietary antioxidants, have caught our and other scientist's attention because
of their diverse pharmacological activities, which have been allied to a possible beneficial action on brain health.
This review will elaborate on the impact of nutritional supplementation on brain function in general, and provide a compilation
of the most updated literature on epidemiology, clinical and animal studies with green tea polyphenols in ageassociated
cognitive decline and in fighting neurodegenerative diseases. To conclude, a future perspective on the utility
and assigned patents with green tea constituents will be presented.