Green Tea: A Natural Plant Extract High in EGCG Content For Our Brain, Mood, and Metabolic Health
GREEN TEA EXTRACT WITH 45% EGCG
Camellia sinensis, known as tea, yields many tea varieties, containing a treasure trove of bioactive molecules. It is a treasure trove of unique bioactive molecules.Often overlooked: Oolong, black, green, matcha, white, pu’erh, and kukicha teas all come from Camellia sinensis. The difference between all of these different types of tea is that they are processed and grown differently. For instance, black tea differs from green tea as it undergoes oxidation, unlike green tea. This oxidization process has a major impact on the flavor, aroma and appearance of Camellia sinensis leaves. These changes in aroma and appearance also correspond to chemical changes.
Unprocessed Camellia sinensis leaves yield a group of compounds known as ‘Catechins,’ flavan derivatives with a distinct chemical structure.
The four main catechins that are present in Camellia sinensis leaves are:
– Epigallocatechin-3-gallate
– Epigallocatechin
– Epicatechin gallate
– Epicatechin
Green Tea retains all the aforementioned flavan derivatives due to its minimal processing during production. However, during the processing of black teas, something very interesting happens! Camellia sinensis leaves contain a compound called polyphenol oxidase (PPO), which is released during the maceration and fermentation stage of black tea processing.
This enzyme, in tandem with pH changes that occur during fermentation, turn the flavan derivatives into Theaflavins and Thearubigins. These two compounds give black tea its characteristic taste, aroma and appearance but it also significantly changes the effects profile! Both the flavan derivatives found in Green Tea and the theaflavins found in black tea both have excellent bioactivities. A standout, however, is Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), which is found in high concentrations in Green Tea.
WHAT IS EGCG?
RAs we discussed earlier in this article, EGCG is one of the major flavan derivatives in Camellia sinensis leaves, and can be found in high concentrations in Green Tea. With modern extraction techniques, we are able to isolate this compound from Green Tea leaves. This allows us to get enormous amounts of this compound into extracts, like our EGCG extract we are discussing in this blog, which contains a whopping 45% EGCG! So what makes EGCG so special, and so highly sought after?
WHY CHOOSE ENTERIC COATED GREEN TEA EXTRACT TABLETS WITH PIPERINE?
Green Tea Extract which has a high EGCG content is a great supplement, however, absorption of EGCG is not fantastic. With this in mind, we dove into the research behind EGCG absorption, to figure out a way to unlock the best possible bioavailability. This led to utilizing an enteric coating and a targeted 6 mg dose of Piperine.
You may be asking, what’s the benefit of an enteric coating? Well, an enteric coating keeps EGCG protected while it passes through the stomach. While EGCG is stable in gastric environments, it can interact with food which can slow its absorption. This effect is called the food matrix effect. An enteric coating bypasses the stomach, ensuring maximum bioavailability of EGCG by facilitating absorption exclusively in the intestines.
We also added Piperine because Piperine helps regulate absorbed EGCG from being pumped back out into the intestines. Piperine achieves this by blocking the function of p-glycoprotein, which is mainly responsible for pumping absorbed EGCG back into the intestines. Piperine also helps regulate glucuronidation of EGCG, which further promotes bioavailability. Overall, the combination of an enteric coating and Piperine, significantly amplifies the Green Tea Extract benefits!
GREEN TEA EGCG BENEFITS FOR BRAIN HEALTH
One of the most common Green Tea benefits is its ability to promote brain health via its EGCG content. It does this through a variety of pathways, two of the main pathways are through promoting balanced levels of oxidation and inflammation. Our brains are very sensitive to the effects of oxidative stress and inflammation, but luckily our brains are also very good at naturally regulating healthy oxidative and inflammatory responses. However, sometimes our brain needs an extra level of support, and this is where a Green Tea supplement may be useful.
The EGCG content in Green Tea supplements, especially a Green Tea extract that is standardized to high EGCG content, does a fantastic job of supporting a healthy balance of oxidation and inflammation in our brains. This will help not only support general brain health, but it will also help promote cognitive function. Green Tea supplements may also have much more interesting effects on brain health, so let’s dive into some newly discovered cutting edge Green Tea benefits for brain health!
It has been found that the EGCG content in Green Tea supplements helps kick start a process in the brain called ‘neurite outgrowth’. This is a process by which neurons grow and form new connections. This helps promote brain health but also helps promote cognitive function. Interestingly enough though, EGCG only helps promote neurite outgrowth, yet it does not actually help promote neurite outgrowth. Looks like we have hit a dead end then? According to new research, it appears that EGCG levels become undetectable at a fairly rapid rate in the brain, so what’s happening to EGCG once it enters the brain? It appears that EGCG only has a brief moment to exert its effects in the brain, after which it becomes metabolized into other bioactive compounds.
GREEN TEA EGCG BENEFITS FOR OXIDATIVE SUPPORT
As we briefly mentioned in the section above, Green Tea supplements have a very positive effect on helping to balance levels of oxidation throughout the body and brain. The oxidation-balancing effects of EGCG have long been a mystery, but recent research has uncovered some very interesting properties of EGCG.
All of the Green Tea Catechins have the ability to support balanced oxidation levels. They do this largely through their molecular structure, which allows them to donate electrons to free radicals. This helps neutralize free radicals, thereby helping to balance oxidation. The reason Green Tea catechins can do this, is due to the presence of hydroxyl groups in their molecular structure. EGCG has 8 hydroxyl groups, all lined up in just the perfect way, which allows EGCG the best efficacy as a free radical scavenger, amongst all of the other Green Tea Catechins. This is why we standardize for such a high amount of EGCG in our Green Tea supplements!
Furthemore, Green Tea EGCG also appears to be able to chelate various metals such as Iron, Copper, Chromium and Cadmium, which can all promote oxidative damage. By chelating these metals, EGCG may help support balanced levels of oxidation. This is a very minor effect in comparison to its other oxidation balancing effects, however. Furthermore, EGCG also appears to be able to promote superoxide dismutase (SOD) function. SOD is an enzyme which helps support balanced oxidation levels, and by enhancing SOD levels, EGCG may exert beneficial effects on oxidation.
GREEN TEA EGCG BENEFITS FOR SKIN HEALTH
Green Tea supplements are also quite popular for skin health, and for very good reason! Our skin is sensitive to the effects of oxidation, and thus by balancing oxidation levels, EGCG has a direct positive effect on skin health. However, Green Tea supplements can go a step further via a very unique mechanism!
Green Tea supplements, through their EGCG content, may help regulate sebum production. This may lead to noticeably smoother and blemish free skin, in addition to the increased smoothness and plasticity of the skin due to EGCG’s oxidation balancing effects!
If you would like to learn more about how Green Tea supplements help promote skin health, we would like to invite you to read our skin health blog, which covers Green Tea, and its effects on skin, in much more detail!
GREEN TEA EGCG BENEFITS FOR METABOLIC HEALTH
Another interesting effect of Green Tea supplements is their ability to help promote metabolic function. This is also what Green Tea supplements are often most famous for, as they find their way into most common fat burning supplements. This is for good reason as Green Tea supplements have some very interesting effects on fat burning!
Green Tea supplements, mainly through their EGCG content, have the ability to regulate an enzyme called Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT). One of the main functions of COMT is to break down catecholamines such as norepinephrine. By regulating COMT, Green Tea supplements have the ability to promote higher levels of these catecholamines in the body. This is important as higher levels of these catecholamines can signal our bodies to start burning fat. In particular, it appears that Green Tea supplements help further promote the fat burning effects of Caffeine. This is due to the fact that Caffeine also helps promote Catecholamine levels, but via different mechanisms than Green Tea supplements. This ultimately means that Caffeine and Green Tea supplements work together synergistically to promote Catecholamine levels and fat burning effects!
GREEN TEA EGCG BENEFITS FOR MOOD SUPPORT
Last but not least, Green Tea supplements may even help promote a positive mood! It appears that EGCG helps promote GABAergic function in the brain. It does this by primarily reversing negative modulation of GABAergic receptors, thereby helping to promote GABAergic activity. Furthermore, it appears that EGCG itself has the ability to promote GABAergic activity in the brain, which helps promote relaxation.
Furthermore, this calming EGCG effect has been shown to support stress management efforts! The combination of the stress-regulating and calming effects suggests that EGCG may actually help promote sleep quality. This is a unique attribute for high EGCG and low Caffeine Green Tea supplements like ours! A cup of Green Tea promotes a state of calm stimulation, due to the combination of EGCG and Caffeine. However, the presence of Caffeine will get in the way of sleep. With Green Tea supplements, however, we do not have to worry about the effects of Caffeine on sleep!
Also read our blog on Mucuna Pruriens
