How to Protect Yourself Against Hepatitis Infection Naturally, Suggested by PubMed

Kyle J. Norton

Green tea may have a potential effect in protected your liver against hepatitis infection, particularly, for people frequently travel to the third world countries, where risk of prevalence is abnormal high due to inadequate sanitation, some  scientists suggested.

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver disease caused by virus in most cases. however long term over dose of drugs and alcohol also can cause hepatitis.

Most cases of hepatitis are mild without exerting any symptoms to carriers. However, Some forms can be serious affecting liver function and inducing liver cirrhosis, or  liver cancer.

People infected by viral hepatitis may experience no symptoms or symptoms of jaundice, yellowing of skin and eyes, lose of appetite, dark colored urine and pale bowel movements,….. Please see your doctor immediately if you have developed some of above symptoms.

Liver disease is condition characterized by reduced function of liver in toxin elimination due to organ damage or injure caused by medication, viral infection, long term high amount of alcohol intake, ….

Green tea, a precious drink processes numbers of health benefit known to almost everyone in Asia and Western world.

According to the joint study lead by the Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University Guangzhou, in the review of the data base of PubMed, CNKI, Wanfang and Weipu databases, regular green tea drinking is associated to a significant reduction in the risk of liver disease(1), including hepatocellular carcinoma, liver steatosis, hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and chronic liver disease.

Green tea demonstrated a reduced risk of liver disease, particularly in hepatitis, regardless of the race and geography(1) of the patients resided such as Asian, American and European subgroups.

1. Autoimmune Hepatitis 
Autoimmune hepatitis is a medical condition characterized by immune system attacking the liver cells in induction of liver cirrhosis as a result of long term liver cellular inflammation and necrosis.

In concanavalin A (ConA) (25 mg/kg) induced autoimmune hepatitis in mice, pre-treatment of green tea exerted a strong inhibition of inflammatory cytokines through 

* Increased Bcl-2 expression(16), a regulator protein with function of blocking the apoptotic death of some cells and 

* Deceased activity of protein Bax in activated p53, a tumor suppressor to induce cell death and caspase-3, and Caspase-9 proteins(16) in signaling molecules in responsible for executing cell death in compared to ConA-treated group within 8 hours of applications.

Observed by TUNEL assay by detecting apoptotic cells that undergo extensive DNA degradation.

In other words, green tea EGCG administration reduced expression of ConA in induction of decreased numbers of infectious cells being attacked by the immune system, thus ameliorating risk of liver cell damage.

Application of green tea bioactive polyphenols Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (10 or 30 mg/kg) orally twice daily for 10 days before ConA injection also demonstrated a significant activity in reduced activation of BNIP3(16), a member of the apoptotic Bcl-2 protein family in mediated infectious cell apoptosis through autophagy(16) in induced destruction of damaged or redundant cellular components in compared to lectin ConA.

Further ananlysis suggested that the result of green tea EGCG efficacy in induction of BNIP3 to decrease expression of concanavalin A (ConA) in reduction of numbers infectious cell proliferation was attributed to the IL-6/JAK/STAT3(16) signaling pathway which plays an important role in the mechanisms in exhibited green tea EGCG antioxidant activity in blocking infectious cells migration and invasion in exhibited hepatoprotective effect.

In other words, said, Dr. Li S(16), the lead scientist “EGCG attenuated liver injury in ConA-induced hepatitis by down-regulating IL-6/JAKs/STAT3/BNIP3-mediated apoptosis and autophagy”.

Further differentiation also found that green tea EGCG administration inhibited the immune over reaction and pathological damage by decreased expression of inflammatory cytokines induced by Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)(16), tumor necrosis factor alpha, a cell signaling protein (cytokine) in activated systemic inflammation in the acute phase infection.

Green tea also modulated the inflammatory factors, interleukin 6 (IL-6)(16), the pro inflammatory cytokines and anti inflammatory mytokins promptly and transiently produced in response to infections and tissue injuries and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ)(16), a cytokine that plays an important role in inducing and modulating immune responses to the infectious tissue, as well as cytokine interleukin-1β (IL-1β)(16), a key mediator of the inflammatory response in protected body against pathological invasion.

2. Hepatitis B 
Hepatitis B is a viral infection of acute and chronic liver disease, caused by a double stranded DNA virus HBV transmitted through infected blood, semen, or other body fluid.

Hepatitis B can be acute or chronic. If you are infectious by the virus and unable to get rid of them after six months, you are at increased risk of having a “chronic infection.”

Patients infected by acute and chronic hepatitis B may carry no symptoms or experience some symptoms pain around the liver, dark urine and/or pale stool……

According to the statistic, positive carriers among Canadian is estimated to be 0.5% to 1.0%., depending to ethnicity.

According to the evaluation of the effect of green tea bioactive polyphenos epigallocatechin-3 gallate (EGCG) and risk of hepatitis B, application of the phytochemical inhibited HBV replication in the testing Hep3B2.1-7 hepatocellular carcinoma cell line(17), through a significant effect in reduced prevalence of liver damage caused by hepatitis B virus.

Injection of EGCG at the dose of less than 100 μM in the observed liver cancer cell line showed no effect in induced cell apoptosis and decreased proliferation but exhibited a strong effect in ameliorated expression of 

* Surface antigen of the hepatitis B virus (HBsAg)(18) and 

* Antigen of hepatitis B virus(18) circulated in infected blood (HBeAg) levels found by the ELISA method and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)assay.

Differentiation in different HepG2 2.2.15 cells to compare the effective of green tea with standard antiretroviral medication lamivudine (3TC), researchers indicated that administration of EGCG shows a significant inhibition of viral proliferation through attenuated expression of levels of HBsAg and HBeAg in the supernatant and extracellular HBV DNA(18) in a dose- and time-dependent manner.

At doses of 50-200 μg/ml EGCG displayed strong effects in compared to lamivudine (3TC) at dose of 200 μg/ml(18).

Application of EGCG also suppressed the extracellular HBV DNA(18), a nutrient source for viral cell proliferation and survival through attachment, aggregation, and stabilization of microcolonies.

The results of the experiments pointed out that green tea EGCG comprises a potential anti-HBV activity with low toxicity.

Moreover, in the investigation of green tea EGCG effect in the early stages of infection caused by four different Hepatitis B virus genotypes A and D researchers also found that at dose of more than 80%, the phyochemical inhibited both DMSO-differentiated HuS-E/2 cells and HA-NTCP-expressing Huh7 cells(19) involved cancer cell process in early stage of proliferation through induced protein degradation and ameliorated serum of tansferrin(19).(the iron-binding blood plasma glycoproteins that control the level of free iron in biological fluids)which is considered as a liver fibrosis biomarker in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

However, treatment of cells with EGCG had no effect on HBV genome replication or virion secretion(19) and the characteristic of HBV virion and the expression of known HBV entry factors were unaltered(19) out side of the host before attacking the liver tissue.

3. Hepatitis C 
Hepatitis C is medical condition induced by contaminated food intake containing hepatitis C virus (HCV). Hepatitis C has been found to associate with sever liver damage.

Chronic hepatitis C patients may not experience any symptoms, however, in serious cases of liver damage, patients may develop symptoms of bleeding and bruising easily. poor appetite, fatigue Poor appetite, jaundice,…..

According to statistic, approximately 130–150 million people around the world are living with chronic HCV.

In Huh7.5.1 cells, a HCV cell culture (HCVcc) system using a JFH1-GFP chimeric virus, application of green tea EGCG with 50 % effective concentration (EC(50)) of 17.9 μM demonstrated a strong effect in interrupted HCV progression through monitoring HCV RNA and protein levels in Huh7.5.1 cells infected with the JFH1 virus(21) by preventing the mRNA in transferring infectious cell transcription in facilitated cell proliferation and division.

Injection of green tea at dose of 50 and 25 μM EGCG, expressed a significant inhibition of the presence of HCV after 2 and 5 passages in HCV cell culture (HCVcc) experiment(21), using an American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) reference strain, with little affect to the viral internal ribosome entry site (IRES) in initiated substitution of RNA sequences for viral protein synthesis(21) in shutting off classic host translation to evade host immune response.

Notably, in comparison of effect of green tea with potent anti-HCV medicine, cyclosporin A and tamoxifen, researchers indicated that application of green tea showed a strong anti HCV viral activity, similarly to those of anti hepatitis medicine through its antioxidant expression of flavonoids epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and 7,8-benzoflavone (α-naphthoflavone)(21), observed in HCV cell culture (HCVcc) by blocking the entry point of the virus in initiated infection to host cells(21) and stimulating the viral cell cycle arrest at the late stage of HCV life cycle(21), respectively

Some researchers in the evaluation of green tea polyphenols (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) in hepatitis C infection suggested that EGCG processes anti viral expression through interrupting the cross link between HCV life cycle involving steps of entry, replication(22).

Injection of a concentration of 50 μM of EGCG was found to inhibit HCV infectivity by more than 90% at an early step of the viral life cycle(20).

The interrupted property in blocking the HCV entry cycle to induce infection to the host cell was confirmed with HCV pseudoparticles(20), a experiment model system in expression of cellular attachment which is the essential component of the HCV entry process.

Green tea EGCG also prevented attachment of of the virus to the cell surface in ameliorated HCV infection to the host cell without effecting viral replication and virion secretion outside of the host(20).

Summary
Green tea with abundant bioactive polyphenols may be considered as function foods for reduced risk and treatment of various types of liver diseases. However, intake of green supplement should be taken with extreme care as toxicity was reported in numbers of medical literature, such as

The single ingredients extract has also been found to induce hepotoxocity(2)(4) and acute liver dysfunction(4) in many occasions due to overdoses and long term usages.

Additionally, according to Baylor College of Medicine and Dalhousie University, Halifax reported, “(There is) a case of acute impending liver failure in an adolescent male using a weight-loss product containing green tea extract” and “acute liver toxicity observed in individuals consuming supplements containing green tea extract”(3).

However, further data collection on larger sample and multi centers clinical studies performed with human consumption during the course of the disease will be necessary to complete the picture of its anti autoimmune hepatitis, hepatitis B and C possibilities.

Intake of green tea extract should  be taken with exceptional care as acute liver toxicity was reported in some cases in medical literature.

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Author biography: Kyle J. Norton 
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published on line, including world wide health, ezine articles, article base, healthblogs, selfgrowth, best before it’s news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada – Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bio science, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) The effect of green tea intake on risk of liver disease: a meta analysis by Yin X1, Yang J2, Li T3, Song L4, Han T5, Yang M1, Liao H1, He J1, Zhong X1.(PubMed)
(2) Green tea extract: a potential cause of acute liver failure by Patel SS1, Beer S, Kearney DL, Phillips G, Carter BA.(PubMed)
(3) Green tea extract: a potential cause of acute liver failure by Patel SS1, Beer S, Kearney DL, Phillips G, Carter BA.(PubMed)
(4) Acute liver failure induced by green tea extracts: case report and review of the literature by Molinari M1, Watt KD, Kruszyna T, Nelson R, Walsh M, Huang WY, Nashan B, Peltekian K.(PubMed)
(16) Epigallocatechin-3-gallate attenuates apoptosis and autophagy in concanavalin A-induced hepatitis by inhibiting BNIP3. by Li S1, Xia Y1, Chen K1, Li J1, Liu T1, Wang F1, Lu J1, Zhou Y1, Guo C1.(PMC)
(17) (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate inhibits entry of hepatitis B virus into hepatocytes by Huang HC1, Tao MH2, Hung TM3, Chen JC4, Lin ZJ5, Huang C6.(PubMed)
(18) Preventive effects of a major component of green tea, epigallocathechin-3-gallate, on hepatitis-B virus DNA replication by Karamese M1, Aydogdu S, Karamese SA, Altoparlak U, Gundogdu C.(PubMed)
(19) Green tea polyphenol, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, possesses the antiviral activity necessary to fight against the hepatitis B virus replication in vitro by Pang JY1, Zhao KJ, Wang JB, Ma ZJ, Xiao XH.(PubMed)
(20) (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate is a new inhibitor of hepatitis C virus entry by Calland N1, Albecka A, Belouzard S, Wychowski C, Duverlie G, Descamps V, Hober D, Dubuisson J, Rouillé Y, Séron K.(PubMed)
(21) (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate inhibits the replication cycle of hepatitis C virus by Chen C1, Qiu H, Gong J, Liu Q, Xiao H, Chen XW, Sun BL, Yang RG.(PubMed)
(22) A cell-based, microplate colorimetric screen identifies 7,8-benzoflavone and green tea gallate catechins as inhibitors of the hepatitis C virus by Fukazawa H1, Suzuki T, Wakita T, Murakami Y.(PubMed)