Arthritis & the Health Benefits of Green Tea

The researchers cultured synovial fibroblasts from rheumatoid arthritis patients and then exposed the cells to epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a naturally occurring compound in green tea. They found that EGCG blocked two potent molecules that cause the bone breakdown in rheumatoid arthritis-affected joints. Ahmed stated that the EGCG "significantly" blocked the harmful molecules. He and his co-workers observed that EGCG also blocked production prostaglandin E2, which causes joint inflammation.

- naturalnews.com, Green tea found to ease inflammation, arthritis pain

I think the most promising areas of green tea research right now is in treating arthritis.
The antioxidant power of the green tea's polyphenols blocks the pathway of the Cox-2 enzyme, which is a major cause of the inflammation and pain of arthritis.  The polyphenols work in very much the same way as the new, heavily advertised antiarthritis drugs such as CelebrexR, except that the tea doesn't have the side effects--or a high cost.

Tea also has strong antibacterial effect.  Drinking a cup of tea after a meal helps prevent cavities and gum disease because the polyhenols kill the bacteria that cause these diseases.  We know from other research that there's a high correlation between gum disease and heart disease.  Could that be one reason for the lower heart risk among tea drinkers?

- Dr. Atkins in Age-Defying Diet Revolution

Green Tea's EGCG Helps Arthritis Sufferers
Investigators at the University of Michigan have demonstrated that EGCG reduces the production of specific molecules that contribute to inflammation and joint damage in people with rheumatoid arthritis. The research focused on a type of cell called a synovial fibroblast, which helps to lubricate the lining of our joints. Normally, this lining keeps our joints moving smoothly and pain free. But in some rheumatic disorders, molecules like interleukin-1b stimulate synovial fibroblasts to produce other molecules that start or extend a process of joint inflammation and destruction. Here's where the green tea comes in. When the investigators pregrew synovial fibroblasts in a dish, treated them with EGCG, and then stimulated them with interleukin-1b, they found a significant reduction in the production of bone-eroding molecules. 

 -Discover Magazine, October 2007

Green Tea Antioxidants 
According to a Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine study published in the April 13, 2005 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Antioxidants in green tea may prevent and reduce the severity of rheumatoid arthritis. The study examined the effects of green tea polyphenols on collagen-induced arthritis in mice, which is similar to rheumatoid arthritis in humans. In each of three different study groups, the mice given the green tea polyphenols were significantly less likely to develop arthritis. Of the 18 mice that received the green tea, only eight (44 percent) developed arthritis. Among the 18 mice that did not receive the green tea, all but one (94 percent) developed arthritis. In addition, researchers noted that the eight arthritic mice that received the green tea polyphenols developed less severe forms of arthritis.

Green Tea as an Anti-inflammatory 
A study in the August, 2003 issue of a new potential application of Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences found that "a new potential application of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate [a component of green tea] in prevention or treatment of inflammatory processes is suggested"

Green Tea May be Useful in Controlling Inflammation from Injury or Diseases Such as Arthritis
Tea contains compounds that may help reduce inflammation and help arthritis. Scientists at Case Western University in Cleveland took two groups of mice and gave them injections of a substance that causes immune reactions similar to those due to rheumatoid arthritis. One group had regular water to drink and the other got water laced with  polyphenols, chemicals found in green tea and, to a lesser extent in black tea. Nearly all the mice that drank regular water got arthritis-like symptoms, compared to less than half of the treated mice.

-Boston Globe, April 26, 99

Green Tea Reduces Inflammation in Arthritis Patients
Green tea catechins are chondroprotective and that consumption of green tea may be prophylactic for arthritis and may benefit the arthritis patient by reducing inflammation and slowing cartilage breakdown.

- The Journal of Nutrition, Mar 2002

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