Green tea prevents apoptosis in stroke

The incidence of stroke is causing mortality and long-term disability, but access to thrombolysis is limited. Apoptosis plays a role in worsening poststroke conditions. An alternative therapeutic agent must be explored to improve stroke management. Green tea has epigallocatechin gallate as an active compound inhibiting apoptosis in intrinsic and extrinsic pathway. The intrinsic pathway includes the forming of “apoptosomes” and activating caspase-9 and caspase-3 due to inner cell stress signals. Bcl-2 protein is an antiapoptotic protein that can interfere with the intrinsic pathway. The extrinsic pathway includes response to external signal received by the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR), which induces the activation of caspase-8 and caspase-3. Green tea may inhibit those processes by reducing the expression of TNFR1, reducing the amount of caspase-3, and increasing the Bcl-2 protein. As a result, green tea can potentially be a future therapeutic agent for stroke management due to its inhibitory effect on apoptosis.