They discover how tea (green or black) reduces blood pressure

A new study from the University of California at Irvine (UCI) has discovered how the compounds present in tearelax blood vessels The effect, which occurs with both green and black tea, is due to the activation of ion channel proteins in the walls of arteries and veins. The discovery helps explain the antihypertensive properties of the tea and could lead to the design of new drugs to lower blood pressure.

Tea activates a gene that dilates blood vessels

published in magazine Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry, the finding was made by Kaitlyn Redford, a graduate student in the lab of Geoffrey Abbott, a professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the UCI School of Medicine.

The research results revealed that two flavonoid compounds (epicatechin gallate and epigallocatechin-3 gallate) each activate the expression of a specific type of protein KCNQ5 gene-gated ion channel, which allows potassium ions to diffuse out of cells to reduce their excitability.

Proteins expressed by the KCNQ5 gene They are found in the smooth muscle that lines the blood vessels and manage to relax them, effect that was later confirmed at the University of Copenhagen.

Because up to a third of the world’s adult population has hypertension, and this condition is considered the major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and premature mortality, the approach discovered from the tea effect could have enormous potential.

Previous studies have shown that consumption of green or black tea can reduce blood pressure by a small but constant rate. This benefit was rightly attributed to catechins, but how they acted at the molecular and genetic level was not known.

It is also beneficial for the brain

In addition to its role in the control of vascular tone, the KCNQ5 protein is expressed in various parts of the brain where regulates electrical activity and signaling between neurons.

There are pathogenic variants of the KCNQ5 gene that impair the function of its channel and, in doing so, cause epileptic encephalopathy, a serious disorder that causes frequent seizures. Because catechins can cross the blood-brain barrier, the discovery of their ability to activate KCNQ5 suggests a future mechanism to repair broken biochemical channels and improve disorders associated with cerebral hyperexcitability.

Tea is produced from the leaves of the evergreen speciesCamellia sinensis and It has been consumed for more than 4,000 years. Today more than 2 billion cups of tea every day around the world. Only water is more consumed. The different varieties of tea are differentiated by the degree of fermentation, the type of leaves selected or the presentation (in dried or powdered leaves).

If you are looking for benefits, do not drink the tea with milk

In some countries, such as the United Kingdom, the United States or Germany, it is customary to drink black tea mixed with milk. It may not be a good idea if we want to get all the health benefits.

Research conducted at the UCI shows that adding milk to tea in laboratory cell cultures inhibits the expression of KCNQ5 proteins, But the study authors believe that enzymes in the stomach could separate the catechises in the tea from the proteins and other molecules in the milk, thereby continuing to produce their beneficial action. However, this process has not yet been verified.

Another interesting detail of the research is that it has been able to determine that the vasodilator action is more effective when the tea has reached a temperature of 35ºC. It is a sufficiently low temperature that even cold tea will be effective, because during its passage through the digestive system it reaches the necessary temperature.

The study was financially supported in the United States by the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Medical Sciences, and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and in Denmark by the Lundbeck Foundation and the Free Research Fund.

Scientific references: