Mol Nutr Food Res. 2006 Feb;50(2):229-34. Related Articles, Links

Green tea catechins as brain-permeable, natural iron
chelators-antioxidants for the treatment of neurodegenerative
disorders.

Mandel S, Amit T, Reznichenko L, Weinreb O, Youdim MB.

Eve Topf and US NPF Centers for Neurodegenerative diseases and
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Haifa,
Israel. Fax: +972-4-851-3145.

Neurodegeneration in Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, or other
neurodegenerative diseases appears to be multifactorial, where a
complex set of toxic reactions, including oxidative stress (OS),
inflammation, reduced expression of trophic factors, and accumulation
of protein aggregates, lead to the demise of neurons. One of the
prominent pathological features is the abnormal accumulation of iron on
top of the dying neurons and in the surrounding microglia. The capacity
of free iron to enhance and promote the generation of toxic reactive
oxygen radicals has been discussed numerous times. The observations
that iron induces aggregation of inert alpha-synuclein and beta-amyloid
peptides to toxic aggregates have reinforced the critical role of iron
in OS-induced pathogenesis of neurodegeneration, supporting the notion
that a combination of iron chelation and antioxidant therapy may be one
significant approach for neuroprotection. Tea flavonoids (catechins)
have been reported to possess divalent metal chelating, antioxidant,
and anti-inflammatory activities, to penetrate the brain barrier and to
protect neuronal death in a wide array of cellular and animal models of
neurological diseases. This review aims to shed light on the
multipharmacological neuroprotective activities of green tea catechins
with special emphasis on their brain-permeable, nontoxic, transitional
metal (iron and copper)-chelatable/radical scavenger properties.

PMID: 16470637 [PubMed - in process]

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