Vitamin B3 + Green Tea Revitalizes Aging Brain Cells
Science and Technology Daily — A team from the University of California, Irvine, has discovered that vitamin B3 and the active ingredient in green tea, working together, can revitalize aging brain cells and effectively clear harmful protein accumulations associated with Alzheimer's disease. The relevant research results have been published in the latest issue of the journal Gerontology.
The team found that when vitamin B3 (niacinamide) synergizes with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a star antioxidant in green tea, it significantly increases the level of guanosine triphosphate (GTP), a key energy molecule in brain cells. Experimental data shows that this combined therapy not only repairs age-related functional defects in neurons in culture but also enhances brain cells' ability to clear β-amyloid, whose abnormal accumulation is a typical feature of Alzheimer's disease.
As people age, the energy factories in human brain neurons gradually "run out of power," leading to a significant decline in the cells' ability to clear waste. The new method is like recharging the cells, allowing them to regain their "cleaning" ability.
The team used a gene-encoded fluorescent sensor called GEVAL to monitor GTP dynamics in neurons of aged Alzheimer's model mice in real-time. They found that with age, GTP levels in cells, especially in mitochondria, continued to decrease, severely impairing cellular autophagy — an important mechanism for cells to clear damaged components.
The GTP levels in aged neurons treated with the combination of niacinamide and EGCG even returned to the standard of young cells. This change triggered a chain reaction, including significant improvements in energy metabolism, activation of key proteins responsible for cellular transport, efficient clearance of β-amyloid clumps, and a marked reduction in oxidative stress responses that cause neurodegeneration.
Studies indicate that the combined use of these two natural dietary supplements may be a new tool to combat cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease.