Sipping a cup of inexperienced tea refreshes and calms you down, particularly if you’re careworn or anxious. However there’s extra to this beverage than its soothing taste — it might maintain the important thing to combating most cancers.
Tea (Camellia sinensis) is among the oldest and most consumed drinks right this moment. There are a number of differing types offered right this moment, equivalent to Oolong or black tea, white tea, and yellow tea. Amongst these varieties, nonetheless, inexperienced tea stands out due to its excessive quantities of flavonoids, referred to as catechins. It’s because when tea is processed, or fermented, the useful catechins are transformed to theaflavins.1
The main catechin present in inexperienced tea is known as Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), and in keeping with current research,2,3 this highly effective antioxidant presents vital advantages, notably by serving to combat or suppress most cancers.
Understanding EGCG’s Therapeutic Potential
In 2023, the American Most cancers Society projected almost 2 million new most cancers circumstances in the USA, with over 600,000 fatalities.4 Fortuitously, there are pure dietary compounds that may assist forestall or handle this illness.
EGCG is one such instance — it’s a pure compound in inexperienced tea, famend for its well being advantages. This catechin isn’t just an antioxidant powerhouse; it performs a major function in modulating cell signaling pathways, that are essential in most cancers improvement and development. EGCG’s capability to affect these pathways makes it a promising candidate in most cancers prevention and remedy methods.
Two research,5,6 each printed within the journal Molecules however a yr aside, spotlight how EGCG helps defend in opposition to most cancers. In the latest assessment, printed in March 2024, the researchers spotlight EGCG’s results in opposition to most cancers cell strains in animal fashions, notably its anti-proliferative, anti-angiogenic and pro-apoptotic properties. Mainly, it helps combat most cancers by focusing on a number of key points that most cancers cells depend upon to develop and unfold.
EGCG Targets Most cancers Hallmarks
EGCG’s impression on most cancers is profound. In accordance with the 2024 research, EGCG interferes with the alerts that most cancers cells use to multiply quickly. By blocking these development alerts, EGCG successfully slows down the division of most cancers cells, making it tougher for tumors to increase.
Along with stopping most cancers cell development, EGCG additionally inhibits angiogenesis, the method by which tumors develop their very own blood provide. With out this blood provide, most cancers cells obtain much less oxygen and vitamins, which stunts their development and reduces the scale of the tumor. In accordance with the researchers:
“Most cancers frequently wants a blood provide for improvement, and when this provide is reduce off, most cancers can turn into dormant. The flexibility to inhibit the angiogenesis course of is seen as a energy in most cancers remedy efforts. Angiogenesis performs an necessary half within the improvement of many well being issues.”
Moreover, EGCG promotes apoptosis, which is the programmed demise of cells. Because of this EGCG helps set off the pure course of that eliminates broken cells, together with cancerous ones, thereby decreasing the general variety of most cancers cells within the physique.
“EGCG has proven promising results in inducing apoptosis in most cancers cells in laboratory research and animal fashions. It has been discovered to activate a number of pathways concerned in apoptosis, together with the activation of caspases and enzymes liable for initiating and executing the apoptotic course of,” the researchers famous.
The research additionally highlighted how EGCG impacts important signaling important for most cancers cell survival and metabolism. By focusing on these pathways, EGCG not solely hampers the expansion of most cancers cells but in addition makes them extra weak to traditional most cancers therapies.
This multifaceted method is what units EGCG aside as a possible therapeutic agent. Its capability to focus on a number of most cancers hallmarks without delay makes it a promising agent in most cancers remedy, providing a complete method to managing and doubtlessly decreasing most cancers development.7
“Anticancer drugs are profitable in treating most cancers, however they will have unfavourable uncomfortable side effects, equivalent to alterations in physiological and biochemical processes, exhaustion, hair loss, an infection, nausea, and vomiting. The analysis of quite a few organic compounds and pure merchandise has been demonstrated to have a key function within the prevention and suppression of most cancers.
Many experimental and scientific analysis research have famous that EGCG has anticancer properties. EGCG is a key physiological anticancer drug attributable to its function in triggering a number of anticancer processes in lots of most cancers hallmarks,” the researchers concluded.
EGCG Might Defend In opposition to Numerous Sorts of Most cancers
The sooner Molecules research, printed in 2023,8 presents the identical conclusions because the newer research. It additionally highlights among the mechanisms of motion of EGCG and the way it positively influences your well being. In accordance with the researchers, this potent compound has:9
- Potent antioxidant capability — EGCG’s antioxidant exercise is 25 to 100 instances stronger than nutritional vitamins C and E. It’s essentially the most lively of all of the catechins.
- Anti-inflammatory results — In accordance with the authors, “The outcomes of a number of research have demonstrated that EGCG modulates the expression of inflammation-associated genes and proteins equivalent to TNF-α, IL-1β, and MMP.”
- Epigenetic affect — EGCG modifications how genes are managed in cells, which impacts most cancers improvement. It reactivates genes that forestall most cancers development, suppresses tumor genes and even triggers apoptosis.
The research authors additionally point out that a number of in-vitro and in-vivo research have demonstrated the multidirectional, antitumor properties of this catechin. They checked out various kinds of most cancers cells, together with bladder, breast, cervical, liver, colorectal, gastric, lung, and head and neck cancers.10
EGCG Impacts Key Mobile Signaling Pathways in Most cancers Therapy
The 2023 research additionally mentioned how EGCG targets a number of signaling pathways important for most cancers cell development and survival.11 By interfering with the Epidermal Progress Issue Receptor (EGFR) pathway, EGCG disrupts the alerts that sometimes promote tumor development and division. This inhibition helps decelerate and even halt the development of sure cancers.
EGCG additionally impacts the JAK-STAT pathway, which is essential for transmitting data from chemical alerts exterior the cell to the cell nucleus, leading to DNA transcription and exercise. By modulating this pathway, EGCG reduces the power of most cancers cells to proliferate and resist cell demise.
Moreover, the PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway, identified for its function in regulating cell development, metabolism and survival, is one other goal of EGCG. By inhibiting this pathway, EGCG not solely suppresses tumor development but in addition enhances the effectiveness of different most cancers therapies, making it a useful element together therapies.
Past these pathways, EGCG’s antioxidant properties play a major function in its anticancer results. By neutralizing dangerous free radicals, EGCG helps defend cells from DNA harm that results in most cancers improvement. This mixture of pathway inhibition and antioxidant exercise makes EGCG a multifaceted agent within the combat in opposition to most cancers.
Preclinical research utilizing cell cultures and animal fashions have constantly proven that EGCG reduces tumor dimension and prevents metastasis. Scientific trials additional assist these findings, indicating that EGCG, each alone and together with different therapies, improves outcomes for most cancers sufferers. These research spotlight EGCG’s potential as a complementary remedy in most cancers remedy protocols.
By focusing on these key signaling mechanisms and enhancing the physique’s pure defenses in opposition to most cancers, EGCG demonstrates promising potential in each stopping and treating numerous forms of most cancers.
EGCG Has Poor Bioavailability
Regardless of its promising results, EGCG faces a significant problem — poor bioavailability. This time period refers back to the extent and charge at which the lively ingredient is absorbed and turns into out there on the website of motion.
Within the case of EGCG, the research be aware that its absorption within the human physique is proscribed, which implies that reaching efficient concentrations within the bloodstream is tough. This limitation poses a major barrier to its use in scientific settings.
Nonetheless, present analysis is targeted on overcoming this hurdle. Scientists are exploring superior supply techniques to boost EGCG’s bioavailability. Methods equivalent to encapsulation in nanoparticles or liposomes are being developed to enhance its stability and absorption.12 These improvements will assist EGCG attain its goal within the physique extra effectively, thereby maximizing its therapeutic potential.
Understanding EGCG’s mechanisms and enhancing its supply might revolutionize most cancers remedy. By making EGCG extra accessible and efficient, it might turn into a key element within the combat in opposition to most cancers, providing a pure and complementary method to traditional therapies. This data not solely highlights the significance of EGCG in most cancers analysis but in addition opens new avenues for its software in well being and wellness.
Right here’s a Fast Solution to Enhance EGCG’s Bioavailability
A straightforward technique to enhance the advantages of inexperienced tea is by including vitamin C — within the case of tea, a squirt of lemon juice will do the trick. In accordance with analysis, vitamin C considerably will increase the quantity of catechins out there to your physique to soak up.
A 2020 Indonesian research printed within the Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Journal (Jurnal Farmasi Dan Ilmu Kefarmasian Indonesia)13 demonstrated the distinction in catechin ranges in tea after vitamin C was added. The researchers ready two units of inexperienced tea samples; in a single group, totally different quantities of vitamin C have been added, from 1 to three milligrams. The opposite group didn’t have any vitamin C added in any respect.
After their catechin content material was recorded, all of the inexperienced tea samples have been left for 4 days after which their catechin content material was retested. The researchers discovered that the inexperienced tea samples fortified with vitamin C solely had a 9.76% lower in catechins; the samples with out vitamin C had their catechins lowered by as a lot as 19.83%.
“Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is essentially the most ample inexperienced tea catechin with a robust antioxidant impact to forestall most cancers cells. EGCG in inexperienced tea answer is extremely inclined to degradation, that is pressing to extend the steadiness of EGCG by vitamin C addition. Vitamin C regenerates radical EGCG to be regular EGCG,” the authors concluded.14
In the meantime, including milk to inexperienced tea has the alternative impact. Milk incorporates proteins that bind to and neutralize the antioxidants in tea, decreasing its well being advantages. In accordance with one research, “All [beneficial vascular protective] results have been utterly inhibited by the addition of milk to tea.”15
Search for Excessive-High quality Inexperienced Tea
When shopping for inexperienced tea, know what to search for by way of high quality. One of many telltale indicators that you just’re ingesting high-quality inexperienced tea is that the tea is in reality inexperienced. In case your inexperienced tea appears to be like brown quite than inexperienced, it is doubtless been oxidized, which damages or destroys a lot of its most beneficial compounds.
Brewing free tea leaves might additionally supply much more antioxidants. It additionally helps you keep away from potential toxins and microplastics in tea luggage. In a single 2019 research, researchers discovered {that a} single tea bag, when positioned in scorching water, releases billions of plastic particles.16
A cup of inexperienced tea offers you round 20 to 35 milligrams of EGCG, so in case you sip three cups in a day, you’ll get as a lot as 60 to 105 milligrams. Greater doses have additionally been utilized in research, upwards of 1,500 milligrams a day. Nonetheless, there’s nonetheless no clear-cut proof of precisely how EGCG is finest.
The excellent news is that a lot of the analysis on inexperienced tea has been primarily based on about three cups every day, which is definitely attainable, and gratifying, for most individuals.