Green Tea Lowers Diabetes Risk, Transdermal Catechin Delivery Effective 32740

Green Tea Lowers Diabetes Risk, Transdermal Catechin Delivery Effective

OSAKA, Japan & PISCATAWAY, N.J.High intake of green tea mayinhibit risk of Type 2 diabetes, and transdermal tea delivery may improvebioavailability of its most studied catechin, epigallocatechin- 3-gallate(EGCG), according to studies published in the Annals of Internal Medicine (144,8:554-62, 2006) (www.annals.org) and The Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology(58, 5:599-604, 2006) (www.ingentaconnect.com), respectively.

Over a five-year period, researchers from Osaka University and Osaka CityUniversity looked for a relationship between consumption of green tea and otherbeverages on development of Type II diabetes in 17,413 individuals (6,727 menand 10,686 women; 40 to 65 years of age) from 25 communities across Japan, whohad no history of the disease. There were 444 self-reported new cases ofphysiciandiagnosed diabetes in 231 men and 213 women. Consumption of green teawas inversely associated with risk for Type II diabetes after adjustment forage, sex, body mass index, and other risk factors. Further, total caffeine intake from green tea was associated with a33-percent reduced risk of developing the disease. These inverse associationswere more pronounced in women and overweight men.

Additionally, scientists from The State University of New Jersey used arodent model to demonstrate transdermal delivery of tea extract may improveabsorption of EGCG, which they noted has a typically low bioavailability in menand rodents. Application of 50 mg/kg EGCG as a transdermal gel to SKH-1 miceresulted in higher plasma concentrations of EGCG in the animals than thosepreviously reported for oral administration of the compound. Further, stabilitystudies showed that the transdermal formulation was stable at 4°C and had ahalf-life of 47.1 and 20.2 hours at 25°C and 37°C, respectively. Theresearchers concluded transdermal EGCG is useful for delivering prolonged levelsof EGCG to plasma and tissues, and may provide an alternative to tea consumptionas a dosage form of EGCG.