The beneficial effect of green tea in preventing Parkinson’s
University of Singapore medical experts have identified a compound in green tea that is effective in preventing Parkinson’s in a new experiment.
Experts from Jung Lu Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore have identified in these experiments an active process between a compound in green tea and a protein in the body that can help protect the body’s cells against the disease.
Singaporean doctors say the compound, called EGCG, targets a protein in the body called AMP kinase, which prevents brain cells from dying in the face of stress.
These experiments on fruit flies with Parkinson’s disease showed that in flies treated with EGCG, the ability to move improved and the maintenance of brain neurons in these flies increased significantly.
The experts hope that they will soon be able to work with pharmaceutical companies to develop a new drug formulation that will be useful in controlling Parkinson’s disease.