BACKGROUND Dietary flavonoids may improve endothelial function and ultimately lead to beneficial cardiovascular effects. OBJECTIVE The objective was to assess whether pure dietary flavonoids can modulate nitric oxide and endothelin-1 production and thereby improve endothelial function. DESIGN A randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial in 12 healthy men was conducted to compare the ac...

Background: Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the major catechins in Chinese green tea, has been studied for its anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties in cell and animal models. In this study, we aimed to analyze the effects of EGCG on cigarette smoke (CS)-induced airway inflammation and mucus secret...

Hepatic fibrogenesis involves the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), which synthesize excess extracellular matrix and contribute to the development of liver fibrosis. In a prior study we tested the effect of combined treatment with taurine, epigallocatechin gallate and genistein on the development of alcohol-induced liver fibrosis in vitro. In this study, the biological activity of th...

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg), the main polyphenol component of green tea, has several antibacterial properties. Here we show that sub-MICs of EGCg appear to decrease slime production, therefore inhibiting biofilm formation by ocular staphylococcal isolates previously characterized for the presence of ica genes by the Congo red agar plate assay and for adhesion to microtiter plates.

Arthritic diseases, such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, inflict an enormous health care burden on society. Osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease with high prevalence among older people, and rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune inflammatory disease, both lead to irreversible structural and functional damage to articular cartilage. The aim of this study was to investigate the e...

Sulfation plays a major role in the detoxication of xenobiotics as well as in modulating the biological activity of numerous important endogenous chemicals. In contrast to this "chemical defense" function, sulfation is also a key step in the bioactivation of a host of pro-mutagens and pro-carcinogens. These reactions are catalyzed by an expanding family of sulfotransferase (SULT) enzymes, which...

This paper describes the effect of NF-κB and Nrf2 transcription factor modulators on depolymerization periodontal extracellular matrix biopolymers in early post-traumatic period following modeling an experimental traumatic brain injury (TBI). The study was conducted 30 white Wistar male rats weighing 180-220 g, divided into 6 groups: 1st (pseudo-traumatized animals, control 1) scalp pinched wit...

Eight compounds were isolated from the water extract of Pu-erh tea and their structures were elucidated by NMR and MS as gallic acid (1), (+)-catechin (2), (−)-epicatechin (3), (−)-epicatechin-3-O-gallate (4), (−)-epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (5), (−)-epiafzelechin- 3-O-gallate (6), kaempferol (7), and quercetin (8). Their in vitro antioxidant activities were assessed by the DPPH and ABTS scave...

tea might be considered as the most popular drink in iran as well as some other parts of theworld. its popularity to some extent depends on its flavor and some other constituents present in its leaves orextract. black tea samples from various agro climatic zones of northeast of iran were evaluated for the chemicalconstituents, polyphenols and metal analysis that determine the quality perception...

Leaves from Camellia sienensis are a popular natural source of various beverage worldwide, and contain caffeine and polyphenols derived from catechin analogues. In the current study, caffeine (CAF, 1) and three tea polyphenols including (-)-epigallocatechin 3-O-gallate (EGCg, 2), (-)-gallocatechin 3-O-gallate (GCg, 3), and (-)-epicatechin 3-O-gallate (ECg, 4) were isolated and purified by flow-...