IMR Press / FBS / Volume 4 / Issue 2 / DOI: 10.2741/S286

Frontiers in Bioscience-Scholar (FBS) is published by IMR Press from Volume 13 Issue 1 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Review

Molecular mechanisms of the neuroprotective/neurorescue action of multi-target green tea polyphenols

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1 Eve Topf Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases Research and Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Haifa, Israel

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

 

Front. Biosci. (Schol Ed) 2012, 4(2), 581–598; https://doi.org/10.2741/S286
Published: 1 January 2012
Abstract

Mounting evidence suggests that lifestyle factors, especially nutrition are essential factor for healthy ageing. However, as a result of the increase in life expectance, neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's (AD and PD, respectively) are becoming an increasing burden, as aging is their main risk factor. Brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases of the elderly are characterized by oxidative damage, dysregulation of redox metals homeostasis and inflammation. Thus, it is not surprising that a large amount of drugs/agents in therapeutic use for these conditions are antioxidants/metal complexing, bioenergetic and anti-inflammatory agents. Natural plant polyphenols (flavonoids and non-flavonoids) are the most abundant antioxidants in the diet and as such, are ideal nutraceuticals for neutralizing stress-induced free radicals and inflammation. Human epidemiological and new animal data suggest that green and black flavonoids named catechins, may help protecting the aging brain and reduce the incidence of dementia, AD and PD. This review will present salient features of the beneficial multipharmacological actions of black and green tea polyphenols in aging and neurodegeneration, and speculate on their potential in drug combination to target distinct pathologies as a therapeutic disease modification approach.

Keywords
Green tea polyphenols
combination therapy
neuroprotection/neurorescue
hypoxia inducible factor
iron chelation
Parkinson's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Review
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