Effects of the black tea polyphenol theaflavin-2 on apoptotic and inflammatory pathways in vitro and in vivo.

Scope: Theaflavin-2 (TF-2), a major component of black tea extract, induces apoptosis of human colon cancer cells and suppresses serum-induced cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression 1. Here, we explored the mechanisms for activation of apoptosis, evaluated the impact on inflammatory genes in a broader panel of cells and tested whether topical anti-inflammatory effects could be observed in vivo.

Methods And Results: TF-2 triggered apoptosis in five other transformed cancer cell lines, inducing cell shrinkage, membrane blebbing, and mitochondrial clustering within 3 h of treatment.