Chemicals found in green tea can boost your memory and learning skills, a new study has found.
Researchers from the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China
found that chemical properties of green tea affect the generation of
brain cells, providing benefits for memory and spatial learning.
Scientists said it has long been believed that drinking green tea is good for the memory.
Spatial memory is the part of memory responsible for recording information about one’s environment and its spatial orientation.
“There has been plenty of scientific attention on its use in helping
prevent cardiovascular diseases, but now there is emerging evidence that
its chemical properties may impact cellular mechanisms in the brain,”
Professor Yun Bai said.
The study focussed on the organic chemical EGCG, (epigallocatechin—3 gallate) a key property of green tea.
While EGCG is a known anti—oxidant, the team believed it can also have a
beneficial effect against age—related degenerative diseases.
“We proposed that EGCG can improve cognitive function by impacting the
generation of neuron cells, a process known as neurogenesis,” said Bai
in a statement.
“We focused our research on the hippocampus, the part of the brain which
processes information from short—term to long—term memory,” Bai said.
The researchers found that ECGC boosts the production of neural
progenitor cells, which like stem cells can adapt, or differentiate,
into various types of cells.
The team then used laboratory mice to discover if this increased cell
production gave an advantage to memory or spatial learning.
“We ran tests on two groups of mice, one which had imbibed ECGC and a control group,” Bai said in a statement.
The mice were trained for three days to find a visible platform in their
maze. Then they were trained for seven days to find a hidden platform.
Researchers found that the ECGC treated mice required less time to find
the hidden platform. Overall the results revealed that EGCG enhances
learning and memory by improving object recognition and spatial memory.
“We have shown that the organic chemical EGCG acts directly to increase
the production of neural progenitor cells, both in glass tests and in
mice,” Bai said.
The study was published in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research.
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