Antioxidant Found In Green Tea Suppresses Breast Cancer Growth In Female Mice

April 9, 2008 11:34 a.m. EST

Jackson, MS (AHN) - Antioxidant found in green tea can significantly decrease breast tumours in mice, giving hope for the development of new drugs for patients with breast cancer, says researchers.

Daily ingestion of EGCG or epigallocatechin-3- gallate reduced weight of breast tumours in mice by 68 per cent.

In an email to NutraIngredients.com, lead researcher Dr. Jian-Wei Gu stated: "Epidemiology study has indicated that green tea and its extracts such as EGCG protect against progression of cancers including breast cancer. However, the anti-cancer mechanisms of EGCG and green tea are poorly understood.

"We believe that this animal study provide a new insight mechanisms how green tea can suppress cancer progression," added Dr. Gu.

He added that some population-based studies have suggested that drinking green tea may protect against some types of cancer, and that epigallocatechin-3- gallate may be responsible for this effect.

Dr. Gu and his team studied seven week old mice that were given EGCG in their drinking water and a group of other female mice that were not given the antioxidant.

In the second week of the study, all the mice were injected with breast cancer cells and the tumour size growth were monitored. At the end of the study, the tumor in mice that were given EGCD were about 66 per cent smaller and weighted 68 per cent less versus the control mice.

Dr. Gu concluded that frequent ingestion of epigallocatechin-3- gallate significantly inhibits breast tumour growth, vascular endothelial growth factor expression and tumour angiogenesis [blood vessel growth] in mice. He said that he also believe that the findings will help lead to new therapies for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer in women.

The research was presented at the Experimental Biology conference in San Diego, California, USA.