Improvement of Depressed Mood with Green Tea Intake

Abstract

Being in a prolonged depressed state increases the risk of developing depression. To investigate whether green tea intake is effective in improving depression-like moods, we used an experimental animal model of depression with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and clarified the effects of green tea on the biological stress response and inflammation in the brain. Regarding the stress reduction effect of green tea, we found that the sum of caffeine (C) and epigallocatechin gallate (E) relative to the sum of theanine (T) and arginine (A), the major components of green tea, or the CE/TA ratio, is important. The results showed that depression-like behavior, adrenal hypertrophy as a typical stress response, and brain inflammation were suppressed in mice fed green tea components with CE/TA ratios of 2 to 8. In addition, the expression of Npas4, which is reduced in anxiety and depression, was maintained at the same level as controls in mice that consumed green tea with a CE/TA ratio of 4. In clinical human trials, the consumption of green tea with CE/TA ratios of 3.9 and 4.7 reduced susceptibility to subjective depression. These results suggest that the daily consumption of green tea with a CE/TA ratio of 4–5 is beneficial to improving depressed mood.

Saffron extract (Safr'Inside™) improves anxiety related behaviour in a mouse model of low-grade inflammation through the modulation of the microbiota and gut derived metabolites

“…Our centre are considered to be displaying anxiety-like traits. Increased anxiety has been reported in response to LPS challenge 55,56 , indeed others have described this same impact upon OF performance 57, 58 , validating this phenotype in this model of chronic low-grade inflammation. Similarly, saffron's antianxiety properties are widely described throughout the literature, with similar OF results reported 59,60 .…”

Plant Pigments in Psychiatry and Neurology: Historical and Modern Uses. Part I (Literature Review)

“…Давно известное антидепрессивное, противотревожное, антистрессовое, нейропротективное и прокогнитивное (антидементное) действие систематического потребления чёрного и зелёного чая связывают в основном с содержанием в нём эпигаллокатехин-3-галлата и других катехиновых и полифенольных антиоксидантов. Некоторую часть эффекта приписывают также содержанию в чае бесцветных L-теанина и пуриновых алкалоидов [13,21,31,48].…”