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EGCG

Phytochemical

Green tea flavonoid that suppresses mTOR activity and extends lifespan of C. elegans and rats

Food Sources

Foods that contain EGCG.

Health Benefits

Health conditions that EGCG may influence, based on research.

Improves

  • Hair loss / hair shedding

    Major green tea constituent promotes human hair growth in vitro but no clinical trials found

    Source: How Not to Age

  • Androgenetic Alopecia

    Kwon 2007: EGCG enhanced human hair growth in vitro; Liao 1995: EGCG selectively inhibits 5-alpha reductase

    Source: How Not to Age

Protects Against

  • Aging

    Extended lifespan in rats by reducing liver/kidney damage and oxidative stress

    Source: How Not to Age

  • Parkinson's disease

    EGCG has shown a neuroprotective role because of its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and acts as a radical scavenger and chelator of iron ions; encourages proper folding of alpha-synuclein monomers

    Source: Nutrition, Food and Diet in Ageing and Longevity

  • Type 2 diabetes

    EGCG in green tea has significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities; reduces glucose and lipid amounts, with enhancement in insulin concentration in diabetic rats

    Source: Nutrition, Food and Diet in Ageing and Longevity

  • Osteoarthritis

    EGCG has anti-inflammatory activity on OA chondrocytes by lowering synthesis of important inflammatory mediators such as iNOS and prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2

    Source: Nutrition, Food and Diet in Ageing and Longevity

  • Cancer

    Source: Young Forever

  • Heart disease

    Source: Young Forever

Reduces Risk Of

  • Aging

    Derivatives of natural compounds, such as epigallocatechin gallate and isoliquiritigenin, that can carry out similarly beneficial functions [as DR mimetics]

    Source: How We Age

  • Rheumatoid arthritis

    Green tea can demonstrate the prevention of RA, osteoarthritis, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and metabolic syndrome via EGCG

    Source: Nutrition, Food and Diet in Ageing and Longevity

  • Neurodegenerative Disease

    Green tea catechin EGCG mimics the anti-aging properties of metformin and rapamycin; has a neuroprotective role; reduces UVR-induced DNA damage and lowers ROS

    Source: Nutrition, Food and Diet in Ageing and Longevity

Biological Mechanisms

How EGCG works at a cellular level.

  • InhibitsmTOR Activation
  • PromotesmTOR Suppression

    EGCG is a dual phosphoinositide-3-kinase/mTOR inhibitor

  • PromotesInhibits 5-Alpha Reductase

    Liao 1995: tea EGCG selectively inhibits steroid 5-alpha reductase isozymes

  • PromotesHormesis

    EGCG from green tea and black tea is a polyphenol hormetin that extends lifespan in model organisms through stress response induction.

  • PromotesSuppresses NF-kB signaling that drives cancer growth

    EGCG is the most effective green tea catechin and suppresses NF-kB/p38 expression

  • PromotesActivates Cellular Protective Enzyme SIRT3

    EGCG possesses anti-inflammatory effects by activating SIRT3 and reducing IL-6 in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes; activation of SIRT3 delays senescence and SASP-induced inflammation

  • PromotesSuppresses the inflammatory secretions of senescent cells (SASP)

    EGCG suppressed ROS, iNOS, Cox-2, NF-kB, SASP and p53-mediated cell cycle inhibition in preadipocytes

  • PromotesClears senescent (zombie) cells

    EGCG suppressed the accumulation of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 in senescent cells thereby promoting apoptosis-mediated cell death

  • PromotesSirtuin Activation

    EGCG could increase mitochondrial SIRT3 and NRF2 mRNA expression; SIRT3 activating compounds may delay senescence

  • PromotesCalorie Restriction Mimicry
  • PromotesNrf2 Activation

Recipes with EGCG

Recipes featuring foods that contain EGCG.

Sources

  • How Not to Age
  • Young Forever
  • How We Age
  • Nutrition, Food and Diet in Ageing and Longevity