Green tea extract may harm liver in people with certain genetic variations: Study

A new analysis showed early signs of liver damage from high-dose green tea extract predicted by genetic variations

Long-term use of high-dose green tea extract may provide some protection against cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes, but it also may create liver damage in a small minority of the population.

Research from Rutgers University in the US provides the first solid clue: two genetic variants that predict some of the risk.

“Learning to predict who will suffer liver damage is potentially important because there’s growing evidence that high-dose green tea extract may have significant health benefits for those who can safely take it,” said Hamed Samavat, senior author of the study and an assistant professor of nutrition sciences at the Rutgers School of Health Professions.

Using data from the Minnesota Green Tea Trial, a large study of green tea’s effect on breast cancer, the research team investigated whether people with certain genetic variations were more likely than others to show signs of liver stress after a year of ingesting 843 milligrams per day of the predominant antioxidant in green tea, a catechin called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG).

An analysis by researchers showed that early signs of liver damage were somewhat more common than normal in women with one variation in the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) genotype and strongly predicted by a variation in the uridine 5′-diphospho-glucuronosyltransferase 1A4 (UGT1A4) genotype.

“We’re still a long way from being able to predict who can safely take high-dose green tea extract,” said Samavat.

Image credit- shutterstock

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