Ischemic stroke results from a temporary or permanent reduction of cerebral blood flow that leads to functional and structural damage in different brain regions.
Ischemia occurs when the blood supply to a tissue is inadequate to meet the tissue’s metabolic demands. Ischemia has 3 principal biochemical components:
– Hypoxia (including anoxia)
– Insufficiency of metabolic substrates
– Accumulation of metabolic waste
Cellular damage occurs during ischemia and reperfusion. Deleterious effects include ATP depletion, intracellular calcium changes, loss of ion homeostasis, excitotoxicity, activation of enzymes, arachidonic acid release, and mitochondrial dysfunction.
Green tea was neuroprotective in ischemia-reperfusion brain injury in rats and gerbils. The main catechins in green tea are (−)-epicatechin; (−)-epicatechin gallate (ECG); (−)-epigallocatechin (EGC); (−)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is a prominent catechin present in green tea.
EGCG has been shown to modulate numerous molecular targets in the setting of inflammation and cancer. These molecular targets have also been demonstrated to be important participants in reperfusion injury.
The study shows that the minimizing effect of green tea extract on the eicosanoid accumulation and oxidative damage in addition to the reduction of neuronal cell death could eventually result in protective effect on the ischemia/reperfusion-induced brain injury and behavior deficit (Brain Research Bulletin Volume 53, Issue 6, December 2000, Pages 743-749).
Green tea can minimize ischemic damage