How to Protect the Neuron's Integrity Against The Onset of Parkinson's disease (PD)

Kyle J. Norton 

Green tea is found to process a therapeutic and substantial effect in inhibiting overexpression of reactive oxygen species (ROS) diseases, including Parkinson’s disease (PD), some scientists suggested.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, causing severe depletion of glutamatergic and dopaminergic inputs in the striatum associated with many factors, including oxidative stress, therefore the antioxidant property of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), standardized extract (CS) and epicatechin (EC), the major polyphenols in green tea, may offer some protection.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) or free radicals are types of unstable molecules containing oxygen, generated during mitochondrial oxidative metabolism and in the cellular response to environmental toxins, cytokines, and foreign organism invasion.

How is ROS associated with the onset of Parkinson’s disease (PD), according to the study by the Rutgers – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, oxidative stress has a strong implication in the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson’s disease (PD) by causing disruptions in the physiologic maintenance of the redox potential in neurons, thus interfering with several biological processes, ultimately leading to cell death.

On the other hand, PD caused by a genetic preposition, including DJ-1, PINK1, parkin, alpha-synuclein, and LRRK2 which have the enormous and negative impacts on mitochondrial function, leading to exacerbation of ROS generation and susceptibility to oxidative stress.

Dr. Dias V, the lead author, after taking all co and confounders into account wrote, ” (Understand better of) specific mechanisms related to PD gene products that modulate ROS production and the response of neurons to stress may provide targeted new approaches towards neuroprotection”.

Green tea is a precious drink processed numbers of health benefit and known to almost everyone in Asia and the Western world.

In environment toxin 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine induced development and progression of Parkinsonism by increasing oxidative stress in dopaminergic neurons, researchers found that application of green tea extract (0.5 and 1 mg/kg) or (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (2 and 10 mg/kg) prevent the loss of dopaminergic neurons through inducing the production of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (240%) and catalase (165%) activities by exerting neuroprotective effect against neurotoxins during the process.

Further analysis, also found that green tea polyphenol (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate inhibited oxidative stress in the induction of the onset of PD caused by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine through increasing the antioxidant and iron chelative activities without affecting the environmental toxins.

Additional differentiation of oxidative stress caused by NO due to toxicity of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) in animal models of Parkinson’s disease (PD), suggested, administration of green tea and green tea EGCG prevented the loss of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive cells in the substantia nigra (SN) and TH activity in the striatum related to dopamine function in the initiation of Parkinson’s disease.

Dr. Ji-Young, the lead author said, “Both tea and EGCG decreased expressions of iNOS(with function in produced both free radicals produce nitric oxide radical (NO), superoxide radicals (O2)) in the substantia nigra.” and “tea plus MPTP and EGCG plus MPTP treatments decreased expressions of neuronal NO synthase (nNOS) (in catalyzed production of free radical NO) at the similar levels of EGCG treatment group”.

Importantly, according to the Parkinson’s Disease: New Insights for the Healthcare Professional: 2011 Edition, EGCG treatment against PD induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)  by reducing neuronal death by 20%. and iNOS expression in the negative control group compared to higher levels in the control group.

The investigation of the neuroprotective actions of the standardized extract (CS), epicatechin (EC) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCbG), on a model of Parkinson’s disease also indicated,  the neuroprotective effects of green tea and its phytochemicals are probably in great part due to its powerful antioxidant activity in the inhibition of free radical expression.

Taken all together, Green tea, containing major bioactive polyphenols may have a powerful and explicit effect in the inhibition of oxidative stress caused by reactive oxygen species in the precipitated onset and progression of Parkinson’s disease (PD).

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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, 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 Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Green tea polyphenol (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate prevents N-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine-induced dopaminergic neurodegeneration by Levites Y1, Weinreb O, Maor G, Youdim MB, Mandel S(PubMed)
(2) Prevention of nitric oxide-mediated 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine-induced Parkinson’s disease in mice by tea phenolic epigallocatechin 3-gallate by Choi JY1, Park CS, Kim DJ, Cho MH, Jin BK, Pie JE, Chung WG.(PubMed)

(3) Green tea polyphenols prevent Parkinson’s disease: in vitro and in vivo studies Dan Chen by Iowa State University
(4) The role of oxidative stress in Parkinson’s disease by Dias V1, Junn E, Mouradian MM. (PubMed)