Green Tea and Heart Health

Abstract

The adherence of monocytes to vascular endothelial cells is an important early event in atherogenesis. Monocyte adherence to endothelial cells is induced by oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and mediated by multiple cell-adhesion molecules, including vascular cell-adhesion molecule 1 and intercellular cell-adhesion molecule 1. Enhanced endothelial expression of these molecules by oxidized LDL has been shown to be a critical step in foam cell formation and the development of atherosclerosis. Recent studies have demonstrated that tea catechin, especially (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate, inhibits the expression of these molecules by endothelial cells in response to stimulation with oxidized LDL or inflammatory cytokines and the expression of CD11b by monocytic leukocytes. An in vivo study using apolipoprotein E-deficient mice has demonstrated that tea catechin extracts prevent the development of atherosclerosis and that (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate effectively reduces the progression of accelerated atherosclerotic plaque formation induced by cuff injury. These data suggest that tea catechin may provide a unique approach to reduce atherosclerosis, although further studies will be necessary to clarify the precise mechanism of these effects, especially the role of metabolites of catechin and the target sites of these compounds.

An Update on the Health Benefits of Green Tea

“…Studies have shown that green tea catechins cause a reduction in the number of leukocyte-endothelial cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), such as ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and E-selection, expressed on the endothelial cell surface. This restricts the ability of the neutrophils to migrate to sites of infection [71,72]. Other studies have shown that factors known to regulate neutrophil function, such as IL-1β, IL-2, TNF-α, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), are suppressed by consumption of green tea or EGCG, resulting in inhibition of inflammation [73][74][75].…”

Integrating Plant Nutrients and Elicitors for Production of Secondary Metabolites, Sustainable Crop Production and Human Health: A Review

“…Diets based SMs provide benefits by preventing or reducing certain diseases in humans. For example, green tea contains catechins that prevent chronic age-related disorders, such as cardiovascular disease (Hodgson and Croft, 2010), mediate vascular inflammation and atherosclerosis through different actions (i.e., anti-hypertensive, anti-lipemic, antiinflammatory, anti-proliferative and anti-thrombogenic) (Moore et al, 2009;Naito and Yoshikawa, 2009) and prevent the invasion of certain cancers (Khan and Mukhtar, 2008).…”

Green Tea Consumption and Prevention of Coronary Artery Disease

“…Tea has been reported to have beneficial impact on the parameters associated with vascular dysfunction, including lipoprotein oxidation, vascular inflammation, blood platelet aggregation, and vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation. 8,9 As well as being antioxidants, catechins exert their biological effects by modulating certain cellular signaling pathways, leading to reduction of inflammation, platelet aggregation, and elevation of vascular reactivity. 8,9 However, the study by Wang et al did not address the biological mechanism of the observed association, which they could do in the clinical setting of their study.…”