Implication of green tea as a possible therapeutic approach for Parkinson disease

Green tea is a beverage consumed around the world that is believed to have substantial health benefits such as reducing the risk of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and neurodegeneration. This beverage is prepared from the leaves (steamed and dried) of the Camellia sinesis plant and contains strong antioxidant and neuroprotective phenolic compounds from which the most important is (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second more common neurodegenerative disorders, after Alzheimer’s disease and is characterized by degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the pars compact of the substantia nigra of the basal ganglia. It has been shown in pre-clinical and clinical studies that green tea may be able to prevent PD, but its optimal dose or a possible mechanism explaining its health benefit in PD has not been properly established. In this review, we discuss the potential role of green tea’s phenolic compounds and their therapeutic effectin modulating key signaling pathways in the PD brain.