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Function of Green Tea Catechins in the Brain: Epigallocatechin Gallate and its Metabolites
Open accessAbstract
Over the last three decades, green tea has been studied for its beneficial effects, including anti-cancer, anti-obesity, anti-diabetes, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects. At present, a number of studies that have employed animal, human and cell cultures support the potential neuroprotective effects of green tea catechins against neurological disorders. However, the concentration of (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in systemic circulation is very low and EGCG disappears within several hours. EGCG undergoes microbial degradation in the small intestine and later in the large intestine, resulting in the formation of various microbial ring-fission metabolites which are detectable in the plasma and urine as free and conjugated forms. Recently, in vitro experiments suggested that EGCG and its metabolites could reach the brain parenchyma through the blood-brain barrier and induce neuritogenesis. These results suggest that metabolites of EGCG may play an important role, alongside the beneficial activities of EGCG, in reducing neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we discuss the function of EGCG and its microbial ring-fission metabolites in the brain in suppressing brain dysfunction. Other possible actions of EGCG metabolites will also be discussed.
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![Figure 1 Chemical structures of EGCG metabolites based on data from Takagaki et al. [41].](/paper-figures/8216b7b4827f43c38be261d7196dbd3e/function-of-green-tea-catechins-in-the-brain-epigallocatechin-gallate-and-its-figure-1.jpg)
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“EGCG treatment displays some limitations such as the high rate of metabolism and subsequent degradation, which in turn prevent a sufficient concentration in human plasma (Pervin et al., 2019)”
From Exploring the Therapeutic Potential of Phytochemicals in Alzheimer’s Disease: Focus on Polyphenols and Monoterpenes (2022) · cites this paper as Pervin et al., 2019
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Metadata
- Authors
- Pervin, M., Unno, K., Takagaki, A., Isemura, M., & Nakamura, Y.
- Affiliations
- Shizuoka University (JP)
- Mitsui (Japan) (JP)
- Corresponding author
- Pervin, Monira
- Unno, Keiko
- Venue
- International Journal of Molecular Sciences
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2019-07-25
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 15
- Pages
- 3630
- ISSN
- 1422-0067 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6696481
- OpenAlex
- W2964240146
- Cited by
- 216
- References
- 74
- Citations by year
- 2026: 21 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 43 · 2021: 33 · 2020: 31 · 2019: 3
- FWCI
- 4.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- dx.doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Molecular Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Tea Polyphenols and Effects
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Medicinal Plants and Neuroprotection
- Keywords
- green tea catechins, epigallocatechin gallate, neuroprotection, neurodegenerative diseases, blood-brain barrier, neurite outgrowth, brain parenchyma, gut-brain axis, anti-inflammatory activity
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Blood-Brain Barrier, Brain, Catechin, Cognition, Humans, Permeability, Plant Extracts, Structure-Activity Relationship, Tea, Molecular Structure, Neurogenesis
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