• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.605-612
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• 2000

Green tea polyphenols (GTP) have been demonstrated to suppress tumorigenesis in several chemical-induced animal carcinogenesis models, and predicted as promising chemopreventive agents in human. Recent studies of GTP extracts showed the involvement of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in the regulation of Phase II enzymes gene expression and induction of apoptosis. In the current work we compared the biological actions of five green tea catechins: (1) induction of ARE reporter gene, (2) activation of MAP kinases, (3) cytotoxicity in human hepatoma HepG2-C8 cells, and (4) caspase activation in human cervical squamous carcinoma HeLa cells. For the induction of phase IIgene assay, (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and (-)-epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG) potently induced antioxidant response element (ARE)-mediated luciferase activity, with induction observed at 25 $\mu\textrm{m}$with EGCG. The induction of ARE reporter gene appears to be structurally related to the 3-gallate group. Comparing the activation of MAPK by the five polyphenols, only EGCG showed potent activation of all three MAPKs (ERK, JNK and p38) in a dose- and time-dependent manner, whereas EGC activated ERK and p38. In the concentration range of 25 $\mu\textrm{m}$ to 1 mM, EGCG and ECG strongly suppressed HepG2-ARE-C8 cell-growth. To elucidate the mechanisms of green tea polyphenol-induced apoptosis, we measured the activation of an important cell death protein, caspase-3 induced by EGCG, and found that caspase-3 was activated in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Interestingly, the activation of caspase-3 was a relatively late event (peaked at 16 h), whereas activation of MAPKs was much earlier (peaked at 2 h). It is possible, that at low concentrations of EGCG, activation of MAPK leads to ARE-mediated gene expression including phase II detoxifying enzymes. Whereas at higher concentrations of EGCG, sustained activation of MAPKs such as JNK leads to apoptosis. These mechanisms are currently under investigation in our laboratory. As the most abundant catechin in GTP extract, we found that EGCG potently induced ARE-mediated gene expression, activated MAP kinase pathway, stimulated caspase-3 activity, and induced apoptosis. These mechanisms together with others, may contribute to the overall chemopreventive function of EGCG itself as well as the GTP.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.1681-1689
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• 2011

The beneficial effects of tea catechins (TCs) are related not only to their antioxidant potential but also to the improvement of animal meat quality. In this study, we assessed the effects of dietary TC supplementation on plasma biochemical parameters, hormone responses, and glutathione redox status in goats. Forty Liuyang goats were randomly divided into four equal groups (10 animals/group) that were assigned to four experimental diets with TC supplementation at 4 levels (0, 2,000, 3,000 or 4,000 mg TC/kg DM feed). After a 60-day feeding trial, all goats were slaughtered and sampled. Dietary TC treatment had no significant effect on blood biochemical parameters, however, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p<0.001), triglyceride (p<0.01), plasma urea nitrogen (p<0.01), and glucose (p<0.001) decreased and total protein (p<0.01) and albumin (p<0.05) increased with the feeding time extension, and day 20 was the turning point for most of changes. Interactions were found in glutathione (p<0.001) and the ratio of reduced and oxidized glutathione (p<0.05) in whole blood between treatment and feeding time. Oxidized glutathione in blood was reduced (p<0.05) by 2,000 mg TC/kg feed supplementation, and a similar result was observed in longissimus dorsi muscle. Though plasma glutathione peroxidase (p<0.01) and glutathione reductase (p<0.05) activities were affected by treatment and feeding time interactions, and glutathione S-transferases activity increased with feeding day extension, no changed values appeared in longissimus dorsi muscle. In conclusion, dietary TC supplementation affected the concentrations of some blood metabolites and accelerated GSH depletion in the blood of goats. In terms of less high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, the highest insulin and IGF-I concentrations, the highest ratio of reduced and oxidized glutathione in plasma, the dosage of 2,000 mg TC/kg feed might be desirable for growing goats to prevent glutathione depletion and keep normal physiological metabolism.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.427-434
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• 2020

This study was performed to compare nutritional compounds and physiological functions of five domestic and imported green tea cultivars at three time points. The five cultivars were compared for theanine, γ-aminobutyric acid, and catechin content by LC-MS/MS and HPLC. Furthermore, the five tea cultivars were functionally characterized with respect to antioxidant activity, brain cell protective effect, and inhibitions of α-glucosidase and HMG-CoA reductase activities. Among green tea cultivars, Chamnok had the highest content of catechins (198 mg/g DW), theanine (11.89 mg/g DW), and tannin (23.6 mg/g DW). Considering functional properties, Chamnok treatment resulted in the maximum viability of brain cells and reduced the cortisol content of SH-SY5Y cells. The inhibition of α-glucosidase and HMG-CoA reductase was the strongest following Chamnok treatment (72.9% and 69.8%, respectively). These results indicate that Chamnok could be optimal for consumption or favorable processing owing to its high nutritional compounds, such as theanine and catechin, and remarkable brain cell protective effects.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.117-124
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• 2001

The main constituent of green tea, catechins have been reported to have numberous biological anti-vites including antimutagenic, antibacterial, hypocholesterolemic, antioxidant and antitumor properties. In the present study, we examined the protective effect of catechin on UVB-induced skin damage. Catechin (3 mg/mouse) was topically treated to dorsal area of SHK-1 hairless mouse daily for 2 weeks. UVB (100 mJ/$\textrm{cm}^2$) was also treated soon after application of catechin alone or with catechin for 2 weeks. Catechin reduced UVB-induced infiltration of inflammatory cells, fibrosis of cells and collagen-fiber formation. In addition, catechin also prevented UVB-induced DNA fragmentation and apoptosis cell number, but not changed p53 level. Furthermore catechin inhibited UVB-induced cell proliferation. There results showed that catechin have preventive effect aganinst UVB-induced skin damages. and these effects could contribute to the antitumor promoters activity.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Near Infrared Spectroscopy Conference
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• 2001.06a
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• pp.1162-1162
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• 2001

Whereas NIR spectroscopy has been applied in agriculture for more than 20 years, few studies refer to those plant substances occurring only in smaller amounts. Nevertheless there is a growing interest today to support efficiently activities in the production of high-quality medicinal and spice plants by this fast and non-invasive method. Therefore, it was the aim of this study to develop new NIR methods for the reliable prediction of secondary metabolites found as valuable substances in various plant species. First, sophisticated NIR methods were established to perform fast quality analyses of intact fennel, caraway and dill fruits deriving from single-plants [1]. Later on, a characterization of several leaf drugs and the corresponding fresh material has been successfully performed. In this context robust calibrations have been developed for dried peppermint, rosemary and sage leaves for the determination of their individual essential oil content and composition [2]. A specially adopted NIR method has been developed also for the analysis of carnosic acid in the leaves of numerous rosemary and sage gene bank accessions. Carnosic acid is an antioxidative substance for which several health promoting properties including cancer preservation are assumed. Also some other calibrations have been developed for non-volatile substances such as aspalathin (in unfermented rooibos leaves), catechins (in green tea) and echinacoside (in different Echinacea species) [3]. Some NIR analyses have also been successfully performed on fresh material, too. In spite of the fact that these measurements showed less accuracy in comparison to dried samples, the calibration equations are precise enough to register the individual plant ontogenesis and genetic background. Based on the information received, the farmers and breeders are able to determine the right harvest time (when the valuable components have reached their optimum profile) and to select high-quality genotypes during breeding experiments, respectively. First promising attempts have also been made to introduce mobile diode array spectrometers to collect the spectral data directly on the field or in the individual natural habitats. Since the development of reliable NIRS methods in this special field of application is very time-consuming and needs continuous maintenance of the calibration equations over a longer period, it is convenient to supply the corresponding calibration data to interested user via NIRS network. The present status of all activities, preformed in this context during the last three years, will be presented in detail.

• Current Research on Agriculture and Life Sciences
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• v.28
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• pp.53-62
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• 2010

The effect of far-infrared (FIR) irradiation on the functional compounds of grape seeds extract were evaluated. Grape seed was dried on different heating power (0, 900, 1800 W) and heating time (0, 20, 40 min) with far-infrared drier. Contents of soluble solids, catechins, total phenolics and total flavonoids along with Hunter's color value, electron donating ability (EDA) and nitrite scavenging activity were analyzed. The soluble solids, Hunter's L value and a value were not significantly different from control samples. Cathechin, procyanidin $B_2$ and epicatechin contents changed with heating time. In the treated sample, total cathechins content was found maximum at 900 W of heating power and 20 min of heating time with a high level of total phenolics, total flavonids and EDA. These results indicated that FIR irradiation of grape seed could enhance antioxidant activities of its extracts by increasing the amounts of functional compounds. Moreover, response surface methodology(RSM) was applied to predict optimum conditions for heating by FIR rays of grape seeds. Based on superimposition of contour map with respect to total phenolics, total catechin and EDA, optimum ranges of heating conditions were heating power of 621.82~818.18 W and heating time of 16.3~19.83 min.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.68-77
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• 2012

Flavan-3-ols are a subclass of flavonoids found in a variety of foods including teas. The effects of flavan-3-ols on the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) have been investigated, generally focusing on tea catechins or individual flavan-3-ol rich foods, but there is little information on dietary flavan-3-ols intake and risk of MetS in population-based studies. In this cross-sectional study, we examined the association between dietary flavan-3-ols intake and the risk of MetS in Korean adults. Subjects comprised 1,827 men and 2,918 women aged 20-69 years whose data was included in the 2008 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. This survey was conducted between January 2008 and December 2008. Total flavan-3-ols intakes were calculated from 24-hour dietary recalls using a flavonoids database. Thirty percent of the male subjects and 24% of the female subjects were reported as having MetS. In the female subjects, flavan3-ols intake was inversely associated with the risk of MetS after adjusting for potential confounders (5th vs. 1st quintile, OR=0.64, 95% CI=0.45-0.91, P for trend=0.384). The main food source of flavan-3-ols was green tea followed by apples and grapes. Among MetS components, flavan-3-ols intake was inversely associated with the risk of high blood pressure after adjusting for potential confounders (5th vs. 1st quintile, OR=0.64, 95% CI=0.45-0.90, P for trend=0.005). No significant association between flavan-3-ols intake and risk of MetS was found in the male subjects. After stratified analysis by obesity (BMI ${\geq}$ 25 or BMI < 25), however, flavan3-ols intake was inversely related to the risk of hypertension in non-obese men. These results suggest that dietary flavan-3-ols intake may have beneficial effects on MetS risk by reducing the risk of hypertension. The effects of flavan-3-ols intake dependent on obesity need further investigation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.37 no.8
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• pp.1025-1029
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• 2008

Fresh green tea leaf extracts were prepared by different enzyme treatment conditions, such as concentration, treating time and treating temperature using complex enzyme, Rapidase TF, and then extracted for 30 min at $80^{\circ}C$ to investigate their physicochemical properties. The results showed that free sugar content in every sample tended to increase, especially glucose content was increased up to 7.25 times compared to the control. Total amino acid was barely affected by the enzyme treatment and caffeine content was increased with reaction temperature. Total polyphenol and total catechin content was increased according to the amount of enzyme added and reaction temperature. Regardless of enzyme treatment conditions, composition of catechins were epigallocatechin, epicatechin, epicatechin gallate and epigallocatechin gallate by descending order of the content. Gallic acid content increased up to 0.04% and $45^{\circ}C$ with no further significant changes thereafter. From the results above, we could conclude that a simple and new method to extract green tea materials directly from fresh green tea leaves with improved extract ratio may be introduced by adding $0.08{\sim}0.1%$ of Rapidase TF to heat treated fresh green tea leaves and keeping temperature at $37{\sim}45^{\circ}C$ for $180{\sim}240\;min$ in order to skip existing complicated procedures.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.83-88
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• 2009

After storing green tea powder for three months at three different temperatures (-20, 4, and $20^{\circ}C$) with three different relative humidities (RHs) (23, 69, and 81%), the chemical quality was evaluated with green tea, which was prepared by soaking 1.5 g of the powder into 100 mL of distilled water at $70^{\circ}C$ for 5 min. Total phenolic contents, total flavanol contents, and ascorbic acid contents of green tea powder stored at $4^{\circ}C$ with 23% RH changed from 267.5, 49.4, and 24.2 mg/g to 287.1, 44.9, and 36.9 mg/g, respectively, compared to the powder before storage. EGC and EGCG, the main catechins of green tea, also changed from 16.9 and 27.3 mg/g to 24.3 and 36.5, g/g, respectively, after storage for 3 months at $4^{\circ}C$ with 23% RH. However, when the green tea powder was stored at -20 or $20^{\cric}C$ with higher RH such as 69 and 81%, the chemical compounds were significantly decreased. The results indicate that temperature and RH are important during storage of green tea powder, and low RH and refrigerated condition ($-4^{\cric}C$) are preferable to increase or preserve the chemical compounds of the tea.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.69-74
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• 2016

The main constituent of tea catechins, EGCG [(-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate], could inhibit the growth of various microorganisms and differently affect gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Antimicrobial activity of EGCG, a compound from green tea (Camellia sinensis) extract, against Cronobacter spp. and Salmonella spp. was studied to evaluate the possibility of using EGCG as a natural food additive in various dairy products. In pure TSB culture, the growth of Cronobacter spp. was suppressed below the detection limit (1 log CFU/mL) depending on EGCG concentration ($600{\sim}800{\mu}g/mL$), after 5~16 days at $4^{\circ}C$. Similarly, the growth of Salmonella spp. was suppressed below the detection limit (1 log CFU/mL) depending on EGCG concentration ($400{\sim}800{\mu}g/mL$), after 5~16 days at $4^{\circ}C$. Therefore, these results suggest that EGCG could be used as an effective additive to inhibit the growth of Cronobacter spp. and Salmonella spp. in various dairy products, such as yoghurt, cheese, dried infant powder, and so on.