Antioxidant in Green Tea May Delay Onset of Type 1 Diabetes

Filed in archive Diet , Research on October 27, 2008

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 4128612

EGCG - an antioxidant in green tea - may delay the onset of type 1 diabetes. Such were the findings of researchers from Medical College of Georgia.

Researchers were testing EGCG, green tea's predominant antioxidant, in a laboratory mouse with type 1 diabetes and primary Sjogren's syndrome, which damages moisture-producing glands, causing dry mouth and eyes.

In the mouse, EGCG reduced the severity and delayed onset of salivary gland damage associated with Sjogren's syndrome, which has no known cure.
"EGCG modulates several important genes, so it suppresses the abnormality at the molecular level in the salivary gland.

It also significantly lowered the serum autoantibodies, reducing the severity of Sjogren's syndrome-like symptoms," Dr. Hsu says. Autoantibodies are antibodies the body makes against itself.

Both Sjogren's syndrome and type 1 diabetes are autoimmune diseases.