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Green Tea
and Muscular Dystrophy
Muscular dystrophy (MD) is a group of inherited
muscle diseases that make the muscle fibers particularly vulnerable to
injury. The cause of most types of MD is a deficiency of dystrophin,
a muscle protein. This makes the voluntary muscles (the ones that move
the body) become progressively weaker, resulting in difficulty walking,
poor balance, limited range of movement, progressive crippling and
contractures of the muscles surrounding the joints. Some kinds of MD
also affect the involuntary muscles, such as those found in the heart,
digestive system and other organs. While medications can slow the course
of the disease, there is currently no cure for MD.
Because dystrophic muscles suffer from an excess of
oxidative stress, scientists decided to see if the super-antioxidant EGCg, a
component of green tea, might be able to help. A 2007 study had found that
supplementing the diets of dystrophic mice with green tea extract protected
their muscles against the first massive wave of MD-related destruction and
helped them stay stronger and more resistant to damage.1 In this new
study, published in 2008, mice specially bred to be deficient in dystrophin and
exhibit signs of a human form of muscular dystrophy were given EGCg injections
from birth to eight weeks. The EGCg produced improvements in MD-related blood
chemistry and muscle composition, and decreased the length of time the calf
muscle stayed contracted to almost normal levels.2
Another 2008 study found that the endurance capacity of
dystrophic mice was markedly improved by a combination of voluntary wheel
running and green tea extract. And by itself the green tea extract decreased
certain markers of oxidative stress and muscle damage, while increasing a marker
of healthy mitochondria (the energy-producing part of the cell).3
While more study is needed to determine whether these
results can translate to humans with MD, it’s exciting to think that green tea
may have a beneficial effect on a disease with no apparent cure.
1Dorchies
OM, Wagner S, Vuadens O, et al. Green tea extract and its major polyphenol (-)-
epigallocatechin gallate improve muscle function in a mouse model for Duchenne
muscular dystrophy. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 2006;290(2):C616-25.
2Nakae
Y, Hirasaka K, Goto J, et al. Subcutaneous injection, from birth, of
epigallocatechin-3-gallate, a component of green tea, limits the onset of
muscular dystrophy in mdx mice: a quantitative histological, immunohistochemical
and electrophysiological study. Histochem Cell Biol 2008;129(4):489-501.
3Call
JA, Voelker KA, Wolff AV, et al. Endurance capacity in maturing mdx mice is
markedly enhanced by combined voluntary wheel running and green tea extract.
J Appl Physiol 2008;105(3):923-32.
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Nadine Taylor, M.S., R.D. presents
GreenTeaLibrary.com, the most
comprehensive collection of scientific information describing the
health benefits of green tea.
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