EGCG Decreases Mortality in a Dose‐Dependent Fashion but Does Not Improve Cognition in Aged Mice

Abstract

We have previously shown that 40 days of a diet containing epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and beta‐alanine was not effective in improving either cognitive or muscle function in aged (18 month) mice (Gibbons et al. Behav Brain Res 2014, Pence et al. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab in press). However, diet reduced oxidative stress in the brain, and previous studies using longer‐term interventions have documented beneficial effects in cognitive function, especially with EGCG. Therefore, we investigated whether a different dose of EGCG could be more efficacious in altering cognition. Aged (21–25 mo) Balb/cByJ male mice underwent 9 weeks of feeding with EGCG at 0, 0.09, or 4.1 mg/g AIN‐93M diet (n=15/group), then underwent a battery of cognitive tests. EGCG feeding did not alter preference for novel versus familiar arm in the Y‐maze test (p=0.292) and did not affect learning in the active avoidance test (p=0.758). Additionally, EGCG did not affect preference for novel versus familiar mice in a social exploration test (p=0.167). EGCG did decrease mortality in a dose‐dependent fashion (p=0.05, logrank test), with 91% of high EGCG, 72% of low EGCG, and 55% of control mice surviving to the end of the study. In conclusion, EGCG may improve survival in aged mice but does not affect cognitive function.Support or Funding InformationFunded by the Abbott‐UIUC Center for Nutrition, Learning, and Memory