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Review
. 2021 Jun 20;26(12):3755.
doi: 10.3390/molecules26123755.

Immunomodulatory Effects of Green Tea Polyphenols

Shuzhen Wang  1 , Zhiliang Li  1 , Yuting Ma  1 , Yan Liu  1 , Chi-Chen Lin  2 , Shiming Li  1   3 , Jianfeng Zhan  1 , Chi-Tang Ho  3
Affiliations
Review

Immunomodulatory Effects of Green Tea Polyphenols

Shuzhen Wang et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Green tea and its bioactive components, especially polyphenols, possess many health-promoting and disease-preventing benefits, especially anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, and metabolic modulation effects with multi-target modes of action. However, the effect of tea polyphenols on immune function has not been well studied. Moreover, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms mediating immunoregulation are not well understood. This review summarizes the recent studies on the immune-potentiating effects and corresponding mechanisms of tea polyphenols, especially the main components of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and (-)-epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG). In addition, the benefits towards immune-related diseases, such as autoimmune diseases, cutaneous-related immune diseases, and obesity-related immune diseases, have been discussed.

Keywords: anti-inflammatory action; autoimmune diseases; epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG); green tea polyphenols; immunomodulatory.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical structure of EGCG (A), EGCG3’’Me (B), and ECG (C).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic illustrating the immunomodulation mechanisms of GTPs and EGCG through anti-inflammatory mechanism.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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