Epicatechin-3-O-(3″-O-methyl)-gallate content in various tea cultivars (Camellia sinensis L.) and its in vitro inhibitory effect on histamine release

  • J Agric Food Chem. 2012 Mar 7;60(9):2165-70. doi: 10.1021/jf204497b.
Mari Maeda-Yamamoto  1 ,  Kaori Ema ,  Mamami Monobe ,  Yoshiko Tokuda ,  Hirofumi Tachibana
Affiliations
  • 1. National Institute of Vegetable and Tea Science, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Kanaya, Shizuoka, Japan. [email protected]
PMID: 22339247 DOI: 10.1021/jf204497b
Abstract

It has been reported that epigallocatechin-3-O-(3″-O-methyl)-gallate (EGCG3″Me) and the EGCG3″Me-rich green tea ( Camellia sinensis L.) cultivar 'Benifuuki' exhibit antiallergic effects. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of various tea leaf catechins on histamine release from murine bone marrow mast cells (BMMC). At a dose of 50 μg/mL, the rank order of histamine release inhibition was observed to be epicatechin-3-O-(3″-O-methyl)-gallate (ECG3″Me) > gallocatechin-3-O-(3″-O-methyl)-gallate (GCG3″Me) > EGCG3″Me > gallocatechin-gallate (GCG) > catechin-gallate (CG) > EGCG > epicatechin-gallate (ECG) > epigallocatechin (EGC) > gallocatechin (GC). Of the various tea cultivars analyzed by HPLC, the greatest content of ECG3″Me was found in the third crop of 'Benifuuki' (1.05% dry weight). Moreover, ECG3″Me content was positively correlated with EGCG3″Me content in 'Benifuuki' tea leaves. In an assay of mixtures of ECG3″Me and EGCG3″Me, inhibitory activity (50 μg/mL in total) was increased as the content of ECG3″Me increased. This suggests that ECG3″Me might link to the antiallergic effect of 'Benifuuki' tea, as has been reported for EGCG3″Me.

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