Green tea compound has lifesaving potential for people with bone-marrow disorders

New Delhi: Green tea has been hailed by experts for its immense potential health benefits. Loaded with antioxidants and nutrients, green tea is considered to be one of the healthiest drinks in the planet.

Now, the green tea that you drink every day to lose those extra pounds has been found to contain a compound may have lifesaving potential for people with bone-marrow disorders, reveals a new study.

Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis in the US and their German collaborators found that a compound called epigallocatechine-3-gallate (EGCG), a polyphenol found in green tea leaves, may be of particular benefit to patients struggling with multiple myeloma and amyloidosis, often-fatal medical complications associated with bone-marrow disorders.

“These patients are susceptible to a frequently fatal condition called light chain amyloidosis, in which parts of the body's own antibodies become misshapen and can accumulate in various organs, including the heart and kidneys,” said study author Jan Bieschke from Washington University in St. Louis in the US

“The idea here is twofold: We wanted to understand how light chain amyloidosis works and how the green tea compound affects this specific protein,” Bieschke added.

The team first isolated individual light chains from nine patients with bone marrow disorders that caused multiple myeloma or amyloidosis, then ran lab experiments to determine how the green tea compound affected the light chain protein.

The findings indicate that in bone marrow patients, the EGCG transformed light chain amyloid, preventing the misshapen form from replicating and accumulating dangerously.

“In the presence of green tea, the chains have a different internal structure, as the ECGC pulled the light chain into a different type of aggregate that wasn't toxic and didn't form fibril structures," as happens to organs affected by amyloidosis,” ” Bieschke explained.

This ‘super-drink’ has also been linked to improved brain function, fat loss, a lower risk of heart-related conditions -high blood pressure to congestive heart failure – and a reduced risk of cancer besides many other incredible health benefits.

The research appeared in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

(With ANI inputs)