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Epimerization of epigallocatechin gallate to gallocatechin gallate and its anti-diabetic activity

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Abstract

Compared with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), its epimer gallocatechin gallate (GCG) is more stable and more bioactive, even when least contained in green tea. In this study, EGCG can be selectively epimerized into GCG catalyzed by a phosphate buffer (pH 5.8) at 60 °C for 2 h with the highest yield of 65.6 %. A plausible mechanism for this conversion was also presented. To evaluate the anti-diabetic activity of GCG, we had investigated an oral glucose tolerance test and determined the plasma levels of glucose, insulin, triglyceride, and free fatty acid in a streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat model system. The results suggested that both GCG and EGCG might have anti-diabetic effects by increasing sensitivity of insulin, and GCG is more active than EGCG.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the China Scholarship Council and the Planned Science and Technology Project of Hunan Province, China (2011TT2062), and was partially funded by the National Department Public Benefit Research Foundation of Ministry of Environmental Protection of China (200909066).

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  1. School of Sciences, Central South University of Forestry & Technology, Changsha, 410004, People’s Republic of China

    Lianwu Xie, Yaping Guo, Bo Cai & Jing Yang

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  1. Lianwu Xie
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  2. Yaping Guo
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  3. Bo Cai
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  4. Jing Yang
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Correspondence to Lianwu Xie.

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Xie, L., Guo, Y., Cai, B. et al. Epimerization of epigallocatechin gallate to gallocatechin gallate and its anti-diabetic activity. Med Chem Res 22, 3372–3378 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00044-012-0352-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00044-012-0352-z

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