A natural connection in green tea forms a powerful brain cleaner in combination with a common vitamin, have found researchers, who may have the brakes on the construction of waste associated with diseases such as Alzheimer's.
What makes the discovery particularly exciting is that these substances can be achieved through a healthy diet and are available on a large scale as nutritional supplements that are cleared by regulators as safe.
De bevindingen zijn het resultaat van een studie van onderzoekers van de University of California Irvine (UC Irvine) van de antioxidant-epigallocatechin gallate en nicotinamide, een soort vitamine B3 die op natuurlijke wijze in het lichaam wordt gemaakt van niacine-rijk voedsel zoals ontbijtgranen, vissen, noten, noten, peulvruchten en eieren.
Related: drink more green tea every day.
“By supplementing the energy systems of the brain with connections that are already available as nutritional supplements, we can have a new path to the treatment of age -related cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease,” we say Biomedical engineer Gregory Brewer.
In tests on lab-grown mouse neurons, epigallocatechin-gallate and nicotinamide were found to stimulate the energy molecule guanosine trifosphate (GTP) found in brain cells. GTP offers essential energy for cleaning up dead cells, with a lack of the connection that was previously linked to the development of Alzheimer's in aging brain.
GTP is closely related to autophagia, the natural recycling of dead cells. (Santana et al., Geroscience2025)
GTP-raised neurons turned out to help the brain to clear up damaging lumps of amyloid beta proteins, which have long been associated with the progression of Alzheimer's. The connections have also changed inversely associated with age in brain cells.
Although GTP is previously linked to neurodegeneration, the study shows how levels can fall over time, especially when Alzheimer's is involved. The researchers speculate that the combination of epigallocatechin -gallate and nicotinamide GTP can return to levels found in younger cells.
“This study emphasizes GTP as a previously undervalued energy source that stimulates vital brain functions,” says Brewer.
Earlier this year, a separate study of green tea connected with fewer lesions in the white matter in the brain, and in turn a lower risk of dementia, although the study has not been proven direct cause and effect. Nicotinamide is also involved in protecting neurons against the effects of stroke and neurodegeneration.
Thanks to this research, we know that GTP may be part of the reason why – and that epigallocatechin Gallate and Nicotinamide can make a critical difference together. It will take some time to turn this into a treatment, and it is important to note that this has only been tested in vitro mouse cells, but the results are encouraging.
“As people get older, their brains show a decrease in neuronal energy levels, which limits the ability to remove unwanted proteins and damaged components,” says Brewer.
“We have discovered that repairing energy levels will help to regain this critical clean -up function.”
The research has been published in Geroscience.
