Zwangerschap en groene thee.*

Onderzoekers uit Engeland en Spanje vonden dat de stof EGCG in groene thee die kanker bestrijdt ook de reductie van het enzym dihydrofolaat blokkeert. Door de blokkade van dit enzym worden ook de foliumzuur waarden in het bloed verlaagd, hetgeen mogelijk de verklaring kan zijn voor groene thee en een iets grotere kans op geboorteafwijkingen (zoals spina bifida).

WHILE green tea can protect against some cancers, women hoping to become pregnant should choose a different drink. Roger Thorneley at the John Innes Centre near Norwich, UK, and his colleagues at the University of Murcia in Spain have discovered why regular green tea drinkers have a low incidence of gastric and oesophageal cancers - and why some studies suggest it increases the risk of birth defects such as spina bifida. The researchers found that the anti-cancer compound in green tea, epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG, works by blocking the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase, which is essential to the growth of tumour cells. This mechanism is similar to that of the anti-cancer drug methotrexate, but EGCG has far fewer side effects. The findings appear in Cancer Research.  Blocking the enzyme also lowers folic acid levels, which might explain the increased risk of birth defects. (April 2005)

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