Does Green Tea Induce Hormesis?

Abstract

Green tea, and its principal constituent (–)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), are commonly shown to induce biphasic concentration/dose responses in a broad range of cell types, including non-tumor cells, and tumor cell lines. The most active area of research dealt with an assessment of neural cells with application to neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease cell models, often using preconditioning experimental protocols. The general findings demonstrate EGCG-induced hormetic effects resulting in an enhanced acquired resilience within an adaptive and temporally dependent homeodynamic framework. The biphasic dose responses displayed the typical quantitative features of the hormetic dose response with respect to the amplitude and width of the stimulatory response. These findings provide further evidence for the general occurrence of hormetic dose responses with such responses being independent of the biological model, end point, inducing agent, and mechanism. The biphasic nature of these responses has important implications since it suggests optimal dose ranges for end points of public health and therapeutic applications. These findings indicate the need to assess the entire dose-response continuum in order to better define the nature of the dose response, especially in the low-dose zone where such exposures are common in human populations.