A recently published study evaluated the potential benefits of supplementation of EGCG, a constituent of green tea, on inflammation associated with an atherogenic (artery-plaque-promoting) diet. Elevated levels of inflammatory markers, such as cardiac C- reactive protein (cCRP), are strongly associated with increased risk of heart attack, predicting recurrent coronary events, sudden cardiac death and peripheral artery disease.
In this new study, rats were fed an atherogenic diet, an atherogenic diet plus daily EGCG, or a standard diet to serve as the control group. After 45 days, the rats were evaluated for inflammatory markers and hematological indicators of inflammation including cCRP, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), total white blood cell count (WBC), differential white blood cell count and platelet count.
The results showed that the rats fed the atherogenic diet had significantly increased levels of cCRP, ESR, total WBC, differential white blood cell counts, and platelet counts compared to the rats fed the standard diet. The group of rats fed the atherogenic diet plus EGCG administration showed significantly lower levels of the inflammatory markers than the rats fed the atherogenic diet alone. Furthermore, the rats fed the atherogenic diet had the highest levels of cCRP protein expression compared to either the rats fed the standard diet or the rats receiving EGCG.
The researchers concluded, “These results suggest that EGCG, a major component of green tea catechins, may decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease by reducing inflammatory markers in rats fed an atherogenic diet.”
Article obtained from cpmedical.net