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Review

Cancer Preventive Activities of Tea Catechins

Department of Chemical Biology, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8020, USA
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Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Molecules 2016, 21(12), 1679; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules21121679
Submission received: 5 September 2016 / Revised: 18 November 2016 / Accepted: 24 November 2016 / Published: 9 December 2016
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catechins and Human Health: Current State of the Science)

Abstract

Catechins are widely occurring in our diet and beverages. The cancer-preventive activities of catechins have been extensively studied. Of these, (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the principal catechin in green tea, has received the most attention. The inhibitory activities of tea catechins against carcinogenesis and cancer cell growth have been demonstrated in a large number of laboratory studies. Many mechanisms for modulating cancer signaling and metabolic pathways have been proposed based on numerous studies in cell lines with EGCG, the most active tea catechin. Nevertheless, it is not known whether many of these mechanisms indeed contribute to the anti-cancer activities in animals and in humans. Human studies have provided some results for the cancer preventive activities of tea catechins; however, the activities are not strong. This article reviews the cancer preventive activities and mechanisms of action of tea catechins involving their redox activities, biochemical properties and binding to key enzymes or signal transduction proteins. These mechanisms lead to suppression of cell proliferation, increased apoptosis and inhibition of angiogenesis. The relevance of the proposed mechanisms for cancer prevention are assessed in the light of the situation in vivo. The potential and possible problems in the application of tea and tea-derived products for cancer prevention are discussed.
Keywords: tea catechins; EGCG; cancer signaling; animal models; cell lines tea catechins; EGCG; cancer signaling; animal models; cell lines

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MDPI and ACS Style

Yang, C.S.; Wang, H. Cancer Preventive Activities of Tea Catechins. Molecules 2016, 21, 1679. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules21121679

AMA Style

Yang CS, Wang H. Cancer Preventive Activities of Tea Catechins. Molecules. 2016; 21(12):1679. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules21121679

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yang, Chung S., and Hong Wang. 2016. "Cancer Preventive Activities of Tea Catechins" Molecules 21, no. 12: 1679. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules21121679

APA Style

Yang, C. S., & Wang, H. (2016). Cancer Preventive Activities of Tea Catechins. Molecules, 21(12), 1679. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules21121679

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