ULTIMATE PROTECTOR+ INGREDIENTS – GREEN TEA EXTRACT

 Ultimate Protector+ includes green tea extract, as well as extracts from 12 different fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Each of these ingredients contain substances that may be considered to be polyphenols, antioxidants, and Nrf2 activators. In this article, I explore the ingredient green tea extract. Green tea extract is added as a separate ingredient in Ultimate Protector+.

Green tea extract (high in EGCG) is obtained from the unfermented leaves of Camellia sinensis for which numerous biological activities have been reported including: antimutagenic, antibacterial, hypocholesterolemic, antioxidant, and protective against tumorigenesis.

The green tea extract in Ultimate Protector+ has been extracted with non-GMO food grade ethanol and distilled water. Testing has indicated the product over 93% polyphenols, over 50% EGCG, and about 4% caffeine.

Bioactive Compounds in Tea
Tea contains over 2,000 components, including polyphenols (flavonoids), pigments (carotenoids and chlorophyll), alkaloids (caffeine, theophylline, theobromine), lignans, carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, amino acids (including L-theanine), vitamins (vitamin C, vitamin E, riboflavin), and various minerals and trace elements.

Flavonoids in Green Tea
Dietary flavonoids are divided in six subclasses: flavan-3-ols, anthocyanidins, flavanones, flavonols, flavones, and isoflavones. Total flavonoid content in green tea is about 138 mg a per 100 mL. A major subclass of flavonoids in green tea is that of flavan-3-ols. Flavan-3-ol monomers, also known as catechins, constitute 30%-42% of the solid weight of brewed green tea. The principal catechins found in tea are (-)-epicatechin (EC), (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC), (-)-epicatechin gallate (ECG), and (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG).

EGCG (Epigallocatechin Gallate) is one of the most powerful compounds in green tea. It has been studied to treat various diseases and may be one of the main reasons green tea has such powerful medicinal properties

GREEN TEA STUDIES

Below we provide information from several research articles that highlight some of the potential health effects of green tea extracts.

1. EGCG upregulates phase-2 detoxifying and antioxidant enzymes via the Nrf2 signaling pathway in human breast epithelial cells

Hye-Kyung Na and Young-Joon Surh
Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 46, 2005
From: http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/65/9_Supplement/367.1

Abstract

There are multiple lines of compelling evidence from epidemiologic and laboratory studies supporting that frequent consumption of green tea is inversely associated with the risk of several types of human cancer and other chronic diseases. The chemopreventive and chemoprotective activity of green tea have been attributed to the polyphenolic ingredient (-)epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). Oxidative DNA damage has been implicated in initiation of carcinogenesis. The induction of phase-2 detoxifying or antioxidant defense enzymes contributes to the cancer chemopreventive and cytoprotective effects of many phytochemicals against oxidative stress. Here, we report that treatment of human breast epithelial (MCF10A) cells with EGCG induces the mRNA expression of both modulatory and catalytic subunits of γ-glutamate-cystein ligase (GCL), which is the rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of GSH. In addition, EGCG upregulated the expression of other antioxidant enzymes, including manganese superoxide dismutase and glutathione S-transferase π in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. NF-E2-related factor (Nrf2), a basic-leucine zipper transcription factor, has been reported to regulate the antioxidant/electrophile responsive elements (ARE/EpRE)-mediated expression of various phase-2 detoxifying or antioxidant enzymes. The nuclear accumulation and ARE/EpRE binding of Nrf2 were increased in EGCG-treated MCF10A cells. Moreover, MCF10A cells transfected with the luciferase reporter gene under the control of ARE/EpRE-driven promoter exhibited a strong transcriptional activity following exposure to EGCG. In contrast, mutation of the GC core box in the ARE/EpRE-driven promoter abolished the EGCG-induced transcriptional activity. MCF10A cells transiently transfected with dominant negative Nrf-2 were less responsive to EGCG-induced expression of GCLC mRNA compared to the vector-transfected control cells. Furthermore, EGCG treatment activated the extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase1/2 and Akt through phosphorylation. These findings, taken together, suggest that induction of antioxidant enzymes by EGCG can be mediated by activation of Nrf2 and possibly upstream signaling kinases, which may provide the cells with acquired antioxidant defense capacity against oxidative insult.

2. Neurological mechanisms of green tea polyphenols in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases

The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, Volume 15, Issue 9, September 2004, Pages 506-516
OrlyWeinreba, SilviaMandela, TamarAmitaMoussa, B.H.Youdima
From: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnutbio.2004.05.002

Abstract
Tea consumption is varying its status from a mere ancient beverage and a lifestyle habit, to a nutrient endowed with possible prospective neurobiological–pharmacological actions beneficial to human health. Accumulating evidence suggest that oxidative stress resulting in reactive oxygen species generation and inflammation play a pivotal role in neurodegenerative diseases, supporting the implementation of radical scavengers, transition metal (e.g., iron and copper) chelators, and nonvitamin natural antioxidant polyphenols in the clinic. These observations are in line with the current view that polyphenolic dietary supplementation may have an impact on cognitive deficits in individuals of advanced age. As a consequence, green tea polyphenols are now being considered as therapeutic agents in well controlled epidemiological studies, aimed to alter brain aging processes and to serve as possible neuroprotective agents in progressive neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. In particular, literature on the putative novel neuroprotective mechanism of the major green tea polyphenol, (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), are examined and discussed in this review.

3. Renoprotective effects of (+)-catechin in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat model

4. Green Tea Polyphenol (−)-Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate Restores Nrf2 Activity and Ameliorates Crescentic Glomerulonephritis

published: March 18, 2015https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0119543
Ting Ye , Junhui Zhen , Yong Du , Jason K. Zhou, Ai Peng, Nosratola D. Vaziri, Chandra Mohan , Yan Xu , Xin J. Zhou
From: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0119543

Abstract
Crescentic glomerulonephritis (GN) is the most severe form of GN and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality despite aggressive immunotherapy with steroids, cytotoxic drugs, and plasmapheresis. We examined the therapeutic efficacy of the green tea polyphenol (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG, 50 mg/kg BW/day x3weeks), a potent anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant agent, on experimental crescentic GN induced in 129/svJ mice by administration of rabbit anti-mouse glomerular basement membrane sera. Routine histology and key molecules involved in inflammatory and redox signaling were studied. EGCG treatment significantly reduced mortality, decreased proteinuria and serum creatinine, and markedly improved renal histology when compared with vehicle-treated mice. The improvements in renal function and histology were accompanied by the restoration of Nrf2 signaling (which was impaired in vehicle-treated mice) as shown by increased nuclear translocation of Nrf2 and cytoplasmic glutamate cysteine ligase catalytic subunit, glutamate cysteine ligase modifier subunit, and glutathione peroxidase. EGCG-treated mice also showed reduction in p-Akt, p-JNK, p-ERK1/2 and p-P38 as well as restoration of PPARγ and SIRT1 levels. Lower dose of EGCG (25 mg/kg BW/day x2 weeks) treatment also significantly decreased proteinuria and serum creatinine, and markedly improved renal histology when compared with vehicle-treated mice. Thus, our data illustrate the efficacy of EGCG in reversing the progression of crescentic GN in mice by targeting multiple signaling and inflammatory pathways as well as countering oxidative stress.

SUMMARY

Green Tea Extract is an exciting natural ingredient full of important polyphenols, catechins, antioxidants, and Nrf2 activators that help to make Ultimate Protector such an outstanding nutritional supplement. Continued research shows an amazing list of health benefits for this substance including its ability to function as a powerful stimulator of Nrf2 activity. It truly belongs in the Ultimate Protector+™ formula.