Diabetes and Alzheimer's disease: can tea phytochemicals play a role in prevention?

Warnakulasuriya M. A. D. B. Fernando, Geeshani Somaratne, Kathryn G. Goozee, Shehan Williams, Harjinder Singh, Ralph N. Martins*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

    54 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Dementia and diabetes mellitus are prevalent disorders in the elderly population. While recognized as two distinct diseases, diabetes has more recently recognized as a significant contributor to risk for developing dementia, and some studies make reference to type 3 diabetes, a condition resulting from insulin resistance in the brain. Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, and diabetes, interestingly, share underlying pathological processes, commonality in risk factors, and, importantly, pathways for intervention. Tea has been suggested to possess potent antioxidant properties. It is rich in phytochemicals including, flavonoids, tannins, caffeine, polyphenols, boheic acid, theophylline, theobromine, anthocyanins, gallic acid, and finally epigallocatechin-3-gallate, which is considered to be the most potent active ingredient. Flavonoid phytochemicals, known as catechins, within tea offer potential benefits for reducing the risk of diabetes and Alzheimer's disease by targeting common risk factors, including obesity, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and stroke. Studies also show that catechins may prevent the formation of amyloid-β plaques and enhance cognitive functions, and thus may be useful in treating patients who have Alzheimer's disease or dementia. Furthermore, other phytochemicals found within tea offer important antioxidant properties along with innate properties capable of modulating intracellular neuronal signal transduction pathways and mitochondrial function.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)481-501
    Number of pages21
    JournalJournal of Alzheimer's Disease
    Volume59
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2017

    Keywords

    • Alzheimer's disease
    • cognitive impairment
    • diabetes
    • phytochemicals
    • tea

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