In the latest study, Dr. Wang’s group gave a substance in green tea called EGCG to mice in the throes of severe sepsis. The dose was equivalent to 10 cups in a human. Survival jumped from 53 percent in those who didn’t receive the green tea substance to 82 percent in those who did. “Clinically, even if we could save five percent of patients, that would be huge,” said Dr. Wang. “In this study, we saved 25 percent more animals with the green tea.” He said that the green tea component, EGCG, is readily available.

There have been more than 100 papers focusing on this natural substance and its anti-cancer benefits. “This compound prevents HMGB1 from being released by immune cells and it also prevents it from activating immune cells to produce more cytokines,” he said. Cytokines are produced by immune cells and act as weapons to defend the body against invaders.

Read more from the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research.

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Green Tea Component May Treat Sepsis

The Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study (JPHC Study) studied 49,920 Japanese men aged from 40 to 69. The participants completed a questionnaires at the start of the study to identify dietary intakes, including their habitual green tea consumption.

The study, initially established in 1990, followed the men through until 2004, and 404 cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed in this time. Of these cases, 114 were advanced cases, 271 were localized, and 19 were undeterminable.

Green tea is just one of the many superfoods that have been linked to reduced risks of prostate cancer. I don’t know about you men out there, but I still haven’t developed a taste for green tea… except for the green tea ice cream. Wonder if there’s enough antioxidants in there, though?

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Green Tea Reduce Prostate Cancer Risks

GST enzymes are believed to be crucial to the body’s defense against cancer-causing chemicals and other toxins, according to the study’s lead investigator, H.-H. Sherry Chow, Ph.D., a research associate professor at the University of Arizona. They modify the cancer-causing molecules that would otherwise damage cellular DNA, thus rendering them inert.

“They actually convert known carcinogens to non-toxic chemicals, and studies have shown a correlation between deficient expression of these enzymes and increased risk of developing some cancers,” Chow said.

For further reading, you might want to study the article published in the August issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention or see the press release from the American Association for Cancer Research.

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Green Tea Concentrate May Protect Against CAncer Development

A new study also suggests that EGCG may also provide therapeutic benefits to people with rheumatoid arthritis.

The researchers looked at whether the green tea compound has the capability to block the activity of two potent molecules, IL-6 and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), which also are actively involved in causing bone erosion in the joints of people with rheumatoid arthritis.

[In untreated cells], a sequence of molecular events occurred that resulted in production of the bone-destructive molecules. But the scientists found that pre-incubation with EGCG was capable of inhibiting the production of these molecules. EGCG also inhibited the production of prostaglandin E2, a hormone-like substance that causes inflammation in the joints.

Of course, this study, having used cell models, is still far from conclusive. Similar therapeutic or preventive effects will still have to be demonstrated in animal, and subsequently, human trials.

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Green Tea Compound May Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis

Researchers studied the salivary glands of the water-consuming group and a green tea extract-consuming group to look for inflammation and the number of lymphocytes, a type of white blood cells that gather at sites of inflammation to fend off foreign cells.

The group treated with green tea had significantly fewer lymphocytes, Dr. Hsu says. Their blood also showed lower levels of autoantibodies, protein weapons produced when the immune system attacks itself, he says.

Researchers believe that epigallo-catechin-3 gallate (ECGC), a compound found in green tea, helps suppress inflammation, and protects against TNF-alpha, a group of proteins and molecules involved in systemic inflammation.

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Green Tea May Help Prevent Autoimmune Disease

This was discovered by Japanese scientists in 2003, but by using computers to image the exact shape of the proteins and working out the electronic processes involved, Nance’s team worked out that ECGC sticks to exactly the same amino acid (component) of the CD4 molecule as gp120 — the “docking module” of HIV — does.

“When it binds there, the gp120 envelope protein, and thus HIV, can’t,” Nance said.

More details here.

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Green Tea Compound Inhibits HIV