Green tea could fight autoimmune disorders

Polyphenols founds in green tea may help protect the body autoimmune disorders, believes an oral biologist who has conducted extensive studies into their health promoting properties.

Dr Stephen Hsu, a researcher at the Medical College of Georgia's School of Dentistry, suspected that there may be a link between green tea consumption and autoimmunity after noting that dry mouth, or xerostamina, an autoimmune disorder suffered by around 30 percent of elderly Americans, occurs in only one to two percent of Chinese people in the same age group.

Green tea is a common component of the typical Chinese diet.

Autoimmune disorders occur when the immune system starts to attack the body's own tissues. They may be triggered by other health conditions, such as type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and Sjogren's disease, and can have debilitating and even life threatening effects.

Dr Hsu will present the findings of his latest investigations, involving green tea's role in producing autoantigens, at the Arthritis research Conference in Atlanta this weekend.

Autoantigens are molecules that have useful functions, but changes in their amount or location can trigger an immune response.

nutraingredients-usa.com, 6/16/2005