A new study in Biological Psychiatry suggests that the consumption of green tea, widely touted to have beneficial effects on health, also protects brain cells from neurological diseases like Parkinson's. The new study involved probing the effects of green tea polyphenols, a group of naturally occurring chemical substances found in plants that have antioxidant properties. Previous research had indicated that green tea possesses neuroprotective effects, leading the researchers to examine its effects specifically in Parkinson's.
They discovered that green tea polyphenols protect dopamine neurons and that the protective effect increases with the amount consumed.
Researcher Dr. Baolu Zhao said that current treatments for Parkinson's are associated with serious side effects and he hopes that eventually green tea polyphenols may be developed into a safe and easily administrable drug for Parkinson's disease.
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Source: Biological Psychiatry
