What Green Tea May Do for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Sufferers

Green Tea Shown to Protect and Restore Damaged Brain Cells

According to the December 2007 issue of Alternatives Newsletter, researchers from the Technion - Israel Institute of Science in Haifa, Israel, have conducted some promising studies of the effects of green tea extract on brain cells. They have successfully shown in animal studies that green tea extract fed to mice with induced Alzheimer's and Parkinson's protected brain cells from dying and restored damaged brain cells. Although the studies involved mice, scientists know that the brain of a mouse has some similarities to the human brain. Therefore, as a result of these positive findings, ongoing tests with humans suffering from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's are currently being conducted in China and elsewhere.

In the Dec. 14, 2007, online issue of Science Daily, an article entitled "Green Tea May Protect Brain Cells Against Parkinson's Disease" suggests similar findings with regard to Parkinson's disease. The article says researchers using animal models looked at the effect green tea polyphenols have on Parkinson's disease, after having previously found that green tea has what they termed neuroprotective effects. Green tea polyphenols contain EGCG, an antioxidant that has been shown to have significant health benefits. The scientists found that green tea polyphenols protect dopamine neurons. Parkinson's disease occurs when there is a loss of dopamine-producing brain cells.