Green Tea, ECGC and Alzheimer's

ECGC Dietary Supplements Treat Alzheimer's

Drinking green tea can redirect the process that leads to the accumulation of protein aggregates that can be the source of Alzheimer's disease.

Why green tea?  Well, it contains a substance called Epgallocatechine-3-gallate... ECGC for short.

EGCG modulates protein misfolding in such a way that the formation of deadly plaques is interrupted, and harmless protein structures emerge instead.

This news comes from researchers at the Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) in Berlin-Buch.  MDC is a national research laboratory in Germany and they have made this discovery in the test tube and in cell models.

ECGC binds directly to unfolded proteins at a very early stage and thus prevents their conversion into toxic aggregates. Instead non-toxic, unstructured round aggregates of a new type are formed, presumably by an alternative folding cascade. "These new aggregates are harmless", says Dr. Bieschke the leading researcher. 

What's the next step?  MDC-researchers want to know exactly how ECGC interferes with the "bad" proteins.

The misfolding of proteins is a complex, multi-step process which eventually leads to the accumulation of dangerous insoluble aggregates. These aggregates are toxic for nerve cells and cause their death. They are associated with a number of disorders, including Parkinson's and Alzheimer`s, and also Huntington's disease.

ECGC binds to several proteins that cause various protein misfolding disorders. Because of that the MDC researchers consider ECGC or similar substances to be suitable for the development of drugs to treat Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Currently a company called Relentless Improvement is offering a EGCG Green Tea SuperPotent Extract product.

The company claims that unlike nearly every other EGCG supplement on the market, their high-potency extract is derived using a chloroform free extraction method providing a product of the highest possible purity and efficacy.

Their EGCG Green Tea Extract contains high-dose, multiple catechins which enhance its efficacy. To ensure potency and provide the most effective product, they store EGCG Green tea extract in carefully climate controlled conditions.

University of South Florida EGCG study finds that "A new generation of dietary supplements containing pure EGCG may lead to the greatest benefit for treating Alzheimer's disease."

The university's Dr. Tan said humans would likely need 1500 to 1600 mg of EGCG daily to approximate the injection dosage that benefited the Alzheimer's mice used in the research. That dosage has already been studied in healthy human volunteers and was found to be safe and well tolerated."

Some researcher say they found clear evidence that drinking three to four cups of tea a day can also cut the chances of having a heart attack.

Other studies suggested tea consumption protected against cancer, although this effect was less clear-cut.

Additional health benefits included protection against tooth plaque and potentially tooth decay, plus bone strengthening.

Drinking tea is actually better for you than drinking water. Water is essentially replacing fluid. Tea replaces fluids and contains antioxidants so you get a double benefit.

Let's all drink a toast to EGCG... with green tea, of course.

Alzheimer's and Mirrors >>

Green Tea, ECGC and Alzheimer's