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Tea is one of the oldest and most popular drinks in the world. Some consume it for taste or for social experience, while others drink it because they have been told that a specific variety of tea will help them treat a particular disease. Several studies have already shown the health benefits, including the fact that tea can help reduce high blood pressure and the risk of heart disease. But a team of researchers have now proven how a component of tea works at the cellular level to lower blood pressure. This discovery could have an impact on therapies for hypertension in the future, a health problem that affects hundreds of millions of people around the world.
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Scientists at the University of California at Irvine (UCI) have teamed up with researchers at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and published their findings in Cell physiology and biochemistry. According to the new research, two antioxidants in tea called catechins can open a protein channel in the membranes of smooth muscle cells that line blood vessels. The channel allows positively charged potassium ions to leave cells, which leads to dilation of blood vessels. As a result, the blood pressure is reduced.
Catechins are responsible for activating a potassium ion channel called KCNQ5. These channels that allow the passage of ions are present in the nerves and muscles. This type of electrical exchange allows information to pass between the brain and the rest of the body, and it has a direct impact on the muscle contraction-relaxation process.
The researchers used computer modeling and mutated versions of the channel protein to prove that catechins bind to a section that detects changes in voltage. Ion channels are voltage dependent and they open or close depending on electrical charges.
“This binding allows the channel to open much more easily and earlier in the process of cellular arousal,” said Professor Geoffrey Abbott of the UCI School of Medicine. Medical News Today. Muscle cells would become less excitable and less likely to contract. It is this phenomenon that allows blood vessels to dilate and lower blood pressure.
The authors used rats to test the theory. They measured the changes in tension in the walls of the arteries and confirmed that the catechins activate the KCNQ5 channel and reduce blood pressure.
This new study also explains that adding milk to tea does not reduce the effect of these antioxidants on blood pressure. The stomach will separate the chemical components of the drink and the catechins will be released to exert their effect on the body. Researchers have found that milk tea may not activate KCNQ5 channels in lab tests. But it is not the same as a person drinking tea with milk in it.
The researchers also looked at iced tea. KCNQ5 activation is increased at 35 ° C (95 ° F). But this temperature is reached after ingesting the tea, regardless of how it is consumed. The human body works at around 37 ° C (98.6 ° F), so the antioxidants would work at an optimum temperature.
Drinking tea more frequently can also help control blood pressure. However, more research is needed to establish new treatment protocols around tea consumption. People with hypertension use a combination of drugs to control their blood pressure.
The benefits of catechin molecules might not be limited to blood pressure. They can also cross the blood brain barrier and directly affect a condition called epileptic encephalopathy. Antioxidants would bind to the same KCNQ5 channel. People with the condition may develop seizures because the channel protein does not respond effectively to changes in blood pressure.
The full study is available on this link.
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Chris Smith started writing about gadgets as a hobby, and before he knew it he was sharing his take on tech with readers around the world. Whenever he doesn’t write about gadgets, he miserably fails to walk away from them, although he desperately tries. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
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