Scientists Discover How Green Tea Kills Cancer Cells

How green tea can KILL cancer cells: Compound destroys disease while leaving healthy cells unscathed

• Compound EGCG kills mouth cancer cells leaving healthy ones alone
• Past studies revealed the drink could help fight the disease
• But now scientists have uncovered how the compound targets cancer

A compound in green tea has been found to kill mouth cancer cells while leaving healthy cells undamaged.
While it was known the drink could help fight the disease, scientists say they have now worked out why.
The breakthrough involved identifying the process by which the substance attacks cancer cells.
This, it is hoped, will lead to new treatments for oral cancer, as well as other forms of the disease.
Scientists at Penn State University, in the US, explored the specific mechanism by which the green tea compound is able to target the diseased cells.
Earlier studies have shown that epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a compound found in green tea, killed mouth cancer cells without harming normal cells.
But researchers did not understand the reasons behind the substance’s ability to kill the cancer cells.
Scientists now believe EGCG may trigger a process in the mitochondria – the powerhouse of a cell that produces energy – that leads to cell death.
If those tests and human trials were then successful, the scientists hope to create cancer treatments that are as effective as current ones, but without the harmful side effects.
Professor Lambert added: ‘The problem with a lot of chemotherapy drugs – especially early chemotherapy drugs – is that they really just target rapidly dividing cells, so cancer divides rapidly, but so do cells in your hair follicles and cells in your intestines, so you have a lot of side effects.
‘But you don’t see these sorts of side effects with green tea consumption.’
The study, supported by the American Institute for Cancer Research, was published in the online issue of Molecular Nutrition and Food Research.
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Source: www.dailymail.co.uk