I would imagine the compound described in the graph accompanying this article would make the CEO of a major drug company break into cheers!
This compound:
- Scavenges ROS (reactive oxygen species), which can cause incredible damage to organisms. (ROS are byproducts of energy production, so our mitochondria are very susceptible to damage from them every minute of every day.)
- Inhibits pro-oxidant production. Antioxidant = good. Pro-oxidant = bad.
- Chelates or binds free transition metals, making them inert or more excretable.
- Activates a whole variety of antioxidants listed above in the chart.
- Inhibits inflammatory cell-signalling pathways (also shown in the graph) and specifically inhibits iNOS (inducible nitric oxide synthetase) — reactive oxygen and nitrogen metabolizing enzymes, which are part of the inflammatory cascade.
What is this near-magical compound that can reduce inflammation and oxidative damage in so many ways, and how do we get it?
It’s the polyphenol (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate, better known as EGCG, and it’s found in green tea.
We’ve long been told that green tea has multiple health benefits. It has been used for medicinal purposes in China and Japan for thousands of years.
But you may not realize the breadth of activity of this popular drink.
The illustration above is from a review article published in the journal Antioxidants in August 2022. “Green Tea Polyphenol (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate (EGCG): A Time for a New Player in the Treatment of Respiratory Diseases?” is 19 pages long with 270 references, indicating there is a lot of science behind the recommendation to drink green tea.
The main focus of the review article is the possible use of EGCG in a therapeutic setting. Using much higher doses than can be achieved by ingestion (drinking green tea), EGCG may be used as a treatment for multiple respiratory diseases, including adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) — an overwhelming inflammatory response of the lungs that actually is the cause of many deaths attributed to COVID-19. Through the varied pathways that EGCG suppresses inflammation, early studies are indicating great potential.
In the second part of this series, we’ll discuss more benefits of drinking green tea.
In the meantime, drink up!