In a new study from Tel Aviv University, researchers find there is hope of treating certain inborn congenital metabolic diseases—a hope found in green tea and in red wine.
Most people with inherited metabolic disorders are born with a defective gene that results in a critical enzyme deficiency.
Because there is no cure, many patients with the disease must adhere to a strict and demanding diet their entire lives.
This new research finds that certain compounds in green tea and red wine may block the formation of toxic metabolites.
In the study, the team considered two compounds: (1) epigallocatechin gallate, known as EGCG, found naturally in green tea. It has attracted attention within the medical community for its potential health benefits.
(2) tannic acid, found in red wine, which is known to prevent the formation of toxic amyloid structures that cause neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
This group of disorders constitutes a significant portion of pediatric genetic diseases.
The disease phenylketonuria (PKU), which produces the aggregation of the metabolite phenylalanine, is one common inborn metabolic disease.
Infants with PKU must adhere to a strict diet free of phenylalanine for the rest of their lives. If they don’t, they may face severe debilitating developmental problems.
The new research is based on two previous studies.
In the first study, phenylalanine was shown to be capable of self-assembly and of forming amyloid structures like those seen in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.
In the second study, other metabolites that accumulate in other inborn congenital metabolic diseases were also shown to undergo self-assembly processes and form toxic amyloid aggregates.
The new research focused on EGCG and tannic acid using test tubes and cultured cell systems.
The two substances were tested on three metabolites related to three innate metabolic diseases: adenine, cumulative tyrosine, and phenylalanine.
The results were promising.
Both tannic acid and EGCG were effective in blocking the formation of toxic amyloid structures. The researchers also used computer simulations to verify the mechanism driving the compounds.
The researchers suggest that their new study demonstrates once again the ability of nature to produce the best candidate of drugs to treat some of the worst human maladies.
They believe that scientists are entering a new era of understanding the role and the importance of metabolites in various diseases, including metabolic diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and even cancer.
The study is published in the Nature group journal Communications Chemistry.
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