Anti-Cancer Effects of Green Tea

The following communication, published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, confirms that green tea fights cancer. The researchers found that constituents in the tea bind to specific receptors found in cells, triggering anti-cancer genes. If this doesn't make you want to rush out and drink a cup of green tea, I don't know what will. Ray Kurzweil drinks 7-10 cups a day.

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 11, 380 - 381 (2004)
Published online: 14 March 2004; | doi:10.1038/nsmb743

A receptor for green tea polyphenol EGCG

Hirofumi Tachibana, Kiyoshi Koga, Yoshinori Fujimura & Koji Yamada

Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Hakozaki 6-10-1, Fukuoka, 812-8581, Japan.

The major polyphenol in green tea, (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), has been shown to prevent carcinogenesis. We have identified a receptor that mediates the anticancer activity of EGCG. Expression of the metastasis-associated 67-kDa laminin receptor confers EGCG responsiveness to cancer cells at physiologically relevant concentrations. Experiments using surface plasmon resonance demonstrate binding of EGCG to the 67-kDa laminin receptor with a nanomolar K _d value. [Emphasis supplied.]