Abstract
The beneficial effects of Greenselect Phytosome, a proprietary lecithin formulation of a caffeine-free green tea catechin extract, were evaluated in a controlled registry study on 50 asymptomatic subjects borderline for metabolic syndrome factors and with increased plasma oxidative stress. After 24 weeks of intervention, improvement in weight, blood lipid profile, and blood pressure positioned 68% of subjects in the treatment arm out of the metabolic syndrome profile, while 80% of the subjects in the control group still remained in their initial borderline disease signature. Compared to the control (lifestyle and dietary changes alone), Greenselect Phytosome was especially effective for weight/waist changes. These results highlight the relevance of addressing multiple factors involved in the development of metabolic syndrome with a pleiotropic agent capable of improving the beneficial effects of lifestyle and dietary changes and foster the attainment of a globally improved health profile.
Highlights
Tea is probably the most consumed beverage in the world after water, and its pharmacological potential has been extensively investigated [1]
We have been interested in the possibility to improve the outcome of metabolic syndrome (MetS) primary prevention by complementing lifestyle changes with dietary ingredients capable to address the various dysfunctions in which the syndrome is declined, and, as discussed above, green tea catechins show the potential to do so
In terms of body weight it is worth mentioning that the results described above were obtained treating volunteers with a dose of Greenselect Phytosome (GSP) corresponding to 40 mg/day catechins, while other studies on green tea and green tea extracts in weight loss area were done treating volunteers with much higher doses of green tea catechins (375–1200 mg/day) typically associated with caffeine (150–600 mg/day) [15, 44,45,46,47,48]
Summary
Tea is probably the most consumed beverage in the world after water, and its pharmacological potential has been extensively investigated [1]. Cancer prevention [2, 3], weight loss [4, 5], and diabetes [6,7,8,9] are some of the other hot areas of clinical investigation where green tea catechins have proved potentially useful both as a stand-alone agent and in combination with lifestyle and pharmacological intervention strategies. A synergistic effect of catechins and caffeine on reducing obesity has been observed, presumably due to a complementary increase in adrenergic tone and its associated signal translation in adipose tissue [19], but the detrimental effects of caffeine on glucose control and blood pressure make this association questionable in the context of overall prevention of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) [20]. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), the major catechin of green tea, is a well-known thermogenic agent [21] that, unlike caffeine, shows beneficial effects toward several markers of the metabolic syndrome, especially glucose control and dyslipidemia [22]
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