Since ancient times green tea has been considered a health-promoting beverage. In recent years, scientists throughout the world have investigated the potential benefits of green tea and its most abundant catechin, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). The anti-cancer effects of green tea and EGCG were the focus of early research, and encouraging data from in vitro, animal model, and human studies have emerged. Due to the dominant role of cardiovascular disease and the dramatic rise of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus as major and interlinked healthcare problems, green tea and EGCG are increasingly being investigated in these areas. Dose-response relationships observed in several epidemiological studies have indicated that pronounced cardiovascular and metabolic health benefits can be obtained by regular consumption of 5-6 or more cups of green tea per day. Furthermore, intervention studies using similar amounts of green tea, containing 200-300 mg of EGCG, have demonstrated its usefulness for maintaining cardiovascular and metabolic health. Additionally, there are numerous in vivo studies demonstrating that green tea and EGCG exert cardiovascular and metabolic benefits in these model systems. Therefore, green tea and EGCG can be regarded as food components useful for the maintenance of cardiovascular and metabolic health. To prove the effectiveness for disease prevention or treatment, several multi-center, long-term clinical studies investigating the effects of one precisely-defined green tea product on cardiovascular and metabolic endpoints would be necessary. The aim of this manuscript is to provide an overview of the research investigating the effects of green tea and green tea catechins on cardiovascular and metabolic health.

Effects of Green Tea and EGCG on Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health

Inflammation, although first characterized by Cornelius Celsus, a physician in first Century Rome, it was Rudolf Virchow, a German physician in nineteenth century who suggested a link between inflammation and cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, pulmonary diseases, neurological diseases and other chronic diseases. Extensive research within last three decades has confirmed these observations and identified the molecular basis for most chronic diseases and for the associated inflammation. The transcription factor, Nuclear Factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) that controls over 500 different gene products, has emerged as major mediator of inflammation. Thus agents that can inhibit NF-kappaB and diminish chronic inflammation have potential to prevent or delay the onset of the chronic diseases and further even treat them. In an attempt to identify novel anti-inflammatory agents which are safe and effective, in contrast to high throughput screen, we have turned to "reverse pharmacology" or "bed to benchside" approach. We found that Ayurveda, a science of long life, almost 6,000 years old, can serve as a "goldmine" for novel anti-inflammatory agents used for centuries to treat chronic diseases. The current review is an attempt to provide description of various Ayurvedic plants currently used for treatment, their active chemical components, and the inflammatory pathways that they inhibit.

Identification of Novel Anti-inflammatory Agents from Ayurvedic Medicine for Prevention of Chronic Diseases: “Reverse Pharmacology” and “Bedside to Bench” Approach

Objective: To compare the effects of supplementation of green tea beverage or green tea extracts with controls on body weight, glucose and lipid profile, biomarkers of oxidative stress, and safety parameters in obese subjects with metabolic syndromeDesign: Randomized, controlled prospective trialSetting: General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) at University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC)Subjects: Thirty-five subjects with obesity and metabolic syndrome were recruited in age- and gender-matched trios and were randomly assigned to the control (4 cups water/d), green tea (4 cups/d), or green tea extract (2 capsules and 4 cups water/d) group for 8 weeks The tea and extract groups had similar dosing of epiogallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the active compound in green teaMethods: Anthropometrics, blood pressure, fasting glucose and lipids, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based lipid particle size, safety parameters, biomarkers of oxidative stress (oxidized low-density lipoprotein [LDL], myelope

Green Tea Supplementation Affects Body Weight, Lipids, and Lipid Peroxidation in Obese Subjects with Metabolic Syndrome

http://www.oeaie.org/content/uploads/2014/08/Liu2014_Effect-of-resveratrol-on-glucose-control-and-insulin-sensitivity.pdf

Effect of resveratrol on glucose control and insulin sensitivity: a meta-analysis of 11 randomized controlled trials

4-Nitroquinoline-1-oxide induced experimental oral carcinogenesis

Green tea attenuates diabetes induced Maillard-type fluorescence and collagen cross-linking in the heart of streptozotocin diabetic rats.

Chemopreventive and therapeutic modulation of green tea polyphenols on drug metabolizing enzymes in 4-Nitroquinoline 1-oxide induced oral cancer.

Attenuation of 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide induced in vitro lipid peroxidation by green tea polyphenols.

Effect of T. chebula on mitochondrial alterations in experimental myocardial injury.

The ethanol extract of Pterocarpus santalinus (PS) was evaluated for gastroprotection in rats using ibuprofen as the induction model. Rats treated with PS (100–400 mg/kg) showed a significant reduction in gastric lesions. PS at a dose of 200 mg/kg was found to be the minimum effective dose and hence further studies with that dose were carried out. PS treatment increased the LDH activity and decreased the lipid peroxidation levels. The extract had the ability to increase the antioxidant enzymes SOD, CAT and GPx when compared with the untreated but induced rats. The membrane bound ATPases – H+K+ATPase, Na+K+ATPase and Ca2+ATPases were increased upon the induction with ulcerogen. The treated group showed a decrease in the activities of these enzymes and also had the ability to restore the sodium and potassium ion concentrations to near normal levels, which were altered by ibuprofen mediated acid stimulation. The results suggest that the antiulcer properties of PS could traced to its acid inhibiting potential, antioxidant activity and the ability to maintain functional integrity of the cell membranes. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Periasamy Srinivasan

Papers

Green tea attenuates diabetes induced Maillard-type fluorescence and collagen cross-linking in the heart of streptozotocin diabetic rats.

Chemopreventive and therapeutic modulation of green tea polyphenols on drug metabolizing enzymes in 4-Nitroquinoline 1-oxide induced oral cancer.

Attenuation of 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide induced in vitro lipid peroxidation by green tea polyphenols.

Effect of T. chebula on mitochondrial alterations in experimental myocardial injury.

Pterocarpus santalinus: a traditional herbal drug as a protectant against ibuprofen induced gastric ulcers.