Green tea extract may help counter fatigue for workaholics

by Inge Wetzel ND, CNHP
(Kansas City, MO)

Supplements of the green tea compound EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) may offset the signs of physical and mental fatigue associated with modern stressful lives, according to research from Japan.
Oral intake of the tea compound for five days reduced levels of oxidized species related to fatigue in an animal model of fatigue, according to results presented in the journal Nutrition.

"Acute fatigue is a normal phenomenon that disappears after a period of rest. In contrast, the effects of accumulated fatigue are sometimes irreversible, and the compensation mechanisms that are useful in reducing acute fatigue are no longer effective," explained lead author Masaaki Tanaka from Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine.

Dr. Tanaka added: "To avoid fatigue, it is important to develop effective strategies for attenuating fatigue." One such method may be supplementing with green tea extract, if the results of the animal study can be repeated in humans.

Green tea and its extracts already have a positive reputation, with studies reporting they may offer protective effects against Alzheimer's and certain cancers, improve cardiovascular and oral health, and play a positive role in weight management.

Tanaka and co-workers simulated fatigue in the rats by keeping the animals in a cage filled with 1.5 cm of water for five days. In order to elevate the extent of their fatigue, they were then subjected to a swimming test with weights attached to their tails.

Researchers reported that the animals fed with EGCG could swim longer than fatigued control animals. Levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) increased in fatigued control animals, but this increase was attenuated in the fatigue animals fed the green tea extract.

"It has been shown that a fatigue load induces oxidative damage (lipid peroxidation) of the liver, and liver damage is associated with fatigue," the researchers explained. "We demonstrated that oral administration of EGCG improved performance in an animal model of combined fatigue; this effect may be mediated by its antioxidant properties in the liver."
Nutrition 24(6):599-603, 2008


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