Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Simultaneous ingestion of dietary proteins reduces the bioavailability of galloylated catechins from green tea in humans

  • Original Contribution
  • Published:
European Journal of Nutrition Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

To investigate the influence of dietary proteins (casein, soy protein) and skimmed milk on the plasma kinetics of green tea (GT) catechins.

Methods

In a randomized cross-over design with one-week intervals, 24 healthy normal-weight women consumed a test drink containing 1.75 g GT extract with or without the addition of different proteins. Treatments were GT (control), GT with skimmed milk (GT + M), GT with caseinate (GT + CS), or GT with soy protein (GT + S). Venous blood samples were taken before and several times during a period of 4.5 h after consumption of the test drink. Plasma concentrations of catechins were analyzed by HPLC with electrochemical detection.

Results

Compared to control, consumption of GT with milk, caseinate, or soy protein significantly reduced the bioavailability (mean area under the plasma concentration–time curve) of total catechins (means ± SEM; GT + M, 87 ± 5%; GT + CS, 79 ± 5%; GT + S, 88 ± 4%), epigallocatechin gallate (GT + M, 68 ± 4%; GT + CS, 63 ± 5%; GT + S, 76 ± 5%), and epicatechin gallate (GT + M, 68 ± 5%; GT + CS, 66 ± 6%; GT + S, 77 ± 6%), while the bioavailability of non-galloylated catechins such as epigallocatechin (GT + M, 134 ± 9%; GT + CS, 118 ± 9 %; GT + S, 123 ± 8%) and epicatechin (GT + M, 125 ± 10%; GT + CS, 114 ± 11%; GT + S, 110 ± 8%) significantly increased. No significant differences in bioavailability of GT catechins were observed between the treatments GT + M, GT + CS, or GT + S.

Conclusion

Simultaneous ingestion of dietary proteins reduces the bioavailability of galloylated catechins from GT in humans.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Wang ZM, Zhou B, Wang YS, Gong QY, Wang QM, Yan JJ, Gao W, Wang LS (2011) Black and green tea consumption and the risk of coronary artery disease: a meta-analysis. Am J Clin Nutr 93:506–515

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Rietveld A, Wiseman S (2003) Antioxidant effects of tea: evidence from human clinical trials. J Nutr 133:3285S–3292S

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Moore RJ, Jackson KG, Minihane AM (2009) Green tea (Camellia sinensis) catechins and vascular function. Br J Nutr 102:1790–1802

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Ellinger S, Muller N, Stehle P, Ulrich-Merzenich G (2011) Consumption of green tea or green tea products: is there an evidence for antioxidant effects from controlled interventional studies? Phytomedicine 8:903–915

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Graham HN (1992) Green tea composition, consumption, and polyphenol chemistry. Prev Med 21:334–350

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Hertog MG, Feskens EJ, Hollman PC, Katan MB, Kromhout D (1993) Dietary antioxidant flavonoids and risk of coronary heart disease: the Zutphen Elderly Study. Lancet 342:1007–1011

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Arts IC, Hollman PC, Feskens EJ, Bueno de Mesquita HB, Kromhout D (2001) Catechin intake might explain the inverse relation between tea consumption and ischemic heart disease: the Zutphen Elderly Study. Am J Clin Nutr 74:227–232

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Hertog MG, Sweetnam PM, Fehily AM, Elwood PC, Kromhout D (1997) Antioxidant flavonols and ischemic heart disease in a Welsh population of men: the Caerphilly Study. Am J Clin Nutr 65:1489–1494

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Serafini M, Ghiselli A, Ferro-Luzzi A (1996) In vivo antioxidant effect of green and black tea in man. Eur J Clin Nutr 50:28–32

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Serafini M, Bugianesi R, Maiani G, Valtuena S, De Santis S, Crozier A (2003) Plasma antioxidants from chocolate. Nature 424:1013

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Reddy VC, Vidya Sagar GV, Sreeramulu D, Venu L, Raghunath M (2005) Addition of milk does not alter the antioxidant activity of black tea. Ann Nutr Metab 49:189–195

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Lorenz M, Jochmann N, von Krosigk A, Martus P, Baumann G, Stangl K, Stangl V (2007) Addition of milk prevents vascular protective effects of tea. Eur Heart J 28:219–223

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. het Hof KH, Kivits GA, Weststrate JA, Tijburg LB (1998) Bioavailability of catechins from tea: the effect of milk. Eur J Clin Nutr 52:356–359

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. het Hof KH, Wiseman SA, Yang CS, Tijburg LB (1999) Plasma and lipoprotein levels of tea catechins following repeated tea consumption. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 220:203–209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Arts MJ, Haenen GR, Wilms LC, Beetstra SA, Heijnen CG, Voss HP, Bast A (2002) Interactions between flavonoids and proteins: effect on the total antioxidant capacity. J Agric Food Chem 50:1184–1187

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Baxter NJ, Lilley TH, Haslam E, Williamson MP (1997) Multiple interactions between polyphenols and a salivary proline-rich protein repeat result in complexation and precipitation. Biochemistry 36:5566–5577

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. de Freitas V, Mateus N (2001) Structural features of procyanidin interactions with salivary proteins. J Agric Food Chem 49:940–945

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Jobstl E, Howse JR, Fairclough JP, Williamson MP (2006) Noncovalent cross-linking of casein by epigallocatechin gallate characterized by single molecule force microscopy. J Agric Food Chem 54:4077–4081

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Lee MJ, Wang ZY, Li H, Chen L, Sun Y, Gobbo S, Balentine DA, Yang CS (1995) Analysis of plasma and urinary tea polyphenols in human subjects. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 4:393–399

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Wang Y, Ho CT (2009) Polyphenolic chemistry of tea and coffee: a century of progress. J Agric Food Chem 57:8109–8114

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Balentine DA, Wiseman SA, Bouwens LC (1997) The chemistry of tea flavonoids. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 37:693–704

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Kartsova L, Alekseeva A (2008) Effect of milk caseins on the concentration of polyphenolic compounds in tea. J Anal Chem 63:1107–1111

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Williamson MP (1994) The structure and function of proline-rich regions in proteins. Biochem J 297(Pt 2):249–260

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Leenen R, Roodenburg AJ, Tijburg LB, Wiseman SA (2000) A single dose of tea with or without milk increases plasma antioxidant activity in humans. Eur J Clin Nutr 54:87–92

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Kyle JA, Morrice PC, McNeill G, Duthie GG (2007) Effects of infusion time and addition of milk on content and absorption of polyphenols from black tea. J Agric Food Chem 55:4889–4894

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are indebted to Plantextrakt (Vestenbergsgreuth, Germany) for providing the green tea extract and analyses, to Meggle (Wasserburg, Germany) for providing the caseinate, to the Solae Company (St. Louis, North America) for providing the soy protein, to Maike Jürgensen for valuable technical assistance, and to Isabella Serafin for performing the venipunctures.

Conflict of interest

None.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Nutritional Physiology, University of Bonn, Endenicher Allee 11-13, 53115, Bonn, Germany

    Sarah Egert

  2. Department of Human Nutrition, Institute of Human Nutrition and Food Science, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany

    Sarah Egert & Manfred James Müller

  3. Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany

    Jane Tereszczuk, Silvia Wein & Siegfried Wolffram

  4. Institute of Biological Chemistry and Nutrition, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany

    Jan Frank

  5. Department of Food Science, Institute of Human Nutrition and Food Science, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany

    Jan Frank & Gerald Rimbach

Authors
  1. Sarah Egert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jane Tereszczuk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Silvia Wein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Manfred James Müller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jan Frank
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Gerald Rimbach
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Siegfried Wolffram
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sarah Egert.

Additional information

Sarah Egert and Jane Tereszczuk contributed equally to this manuscript.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Egert, S., Tereszczuk, J., Wein, S. et al. Simultaneous ingestion of dietary proteins reduces the bioavailability of galloylated catechins from green tea in humans. Eur J Nutr 52, 281–288 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-012-0330-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-012-0330-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation