Epigallocatechin-3-gallate restores the Bcl-2 expression in liver of young rats challenged with hypercholesterolemia but not in aged rats: an insight into its disparity of efficacy on advancing age.

Advanced age significantly increases cholesterol levels, however, when combined with a high cholesterol diet it not only leads to life-threatening conditions like atherosclerosis, but also plays a central role in the pathogenesis of hepatic damage and its complications. Even though extensive studies have been carried out to elucidate the causative factors that lead to hepatic steatosis associated with liver damage in young rats due to hypercholesterolemia, events that occur in aged rats where a different milieu is presented by up and down regulation of various genes co-existing, has not been extensively studied. Hence, this study comparatively evaluates the impact of hypercholesterolemic stress induced liver damage in young and aged rats and the efficacy of epigallocatechin-3-gallate to protect the liver in both young and aged rats with special reference to apoptosis.

Attenuation of the inflammatory changes and lipid anomalies by epigallocatechin-3-gallate in hypercholesterolemic diet fed aged rats.

Epidemiological studies suggest that even in the absence of other risk factors advanced age itself significantly increases cardiovascular morbidity. Age aggravated inflammatory activity further plays a central role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and its complications. EGCG, a major flavonoid present in green tea extract has been proved to be useful in lowering cholesterol levels thereby slowing down the progression of cardiovascular diseases in young animals.

Senescence mediated redox imbalance in cardiac tissue: Antioxidant rejuvenating potential of green tea extract.

Objective: The activities and capacities of antioxidant systems of tissue cells are declined during aging, leading to the gradual loss of pro-oxidant/antioxidant balance and accumulation of oxidative damage. Hence, the present study evaluated the role of green tea extract (GTE), rich in polyphenols, in combating age-associated macromolecular damage in rat cardiac tissue.

Methods: The antioxidant defense system, lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, and redox status in heart tissue were studied using young and aged rats.

Repletion of antioxidant status by EGCG and retardation of oxidative damage induced macromolecular anomalies in aged rats.

Ageing is defined as the loss of ability to maintain cellular homeostasis of an organism associated with the free radical-elicited oxidative damage to cellular macromolecules. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the key component of green tea catechins on attenuating the age associated oxidative perturbances by assessing the redox status in mitotic (liver) and post-mitotic (skeletal muscle) tissues of young and aged rats. From the results, we observed an increase in the marker for oxidative damage such as lipid peroxidation and protein carbonyl content in aged rats, when compared to young rats.