Excessive Green Tea Consumption Impairs Development, Reproduction in Fruit Flies

Nutraceuticals such as green tea, while growing in popularity, are largely unregulated. Green tea is enjoyed by millions for its numerous health benefits. However, excessive consumption of green tea was observed to adversely affect the development and reproduction in fruit fly populations, revealed university of California, Irvine researchers. Although, it is unclear whether over consumption could have the same impact on humans, the findings suggest caution when using green tea, or any natural product in high doses. Study results appear in the Journal of Functional Foods.

A UCI team led by Mahtab Jafari, associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences, investigated the effects of green tea toxicity on Drosophila melanogaster development and reproduction. Embryos and larvae were subjected to various doses of green tea polyphenols with the following results:

‘High doses of green tea may cause 'too much' apoptosis, or cell death, thus affecting the development and reproduction in fruit fly populations. The findings suggest caution when using green tea, or any natural product in high doses.’

- Larvae exposed to 10 milligrams of green tea were slower to develop, were born smaller and exhibited a dramatic decline in the number of emerged offspring.
- 10 milligrams of green tea made the flies more susceptible to starvation and heat stress but protected them against dehydration.
- Female offspring showed decreased reproductive output and a 17% reduction in lifespan; males were unaffected.
- 10 milligrams of green tea caused morphological abnormalities in reproductive organs, such as testicular and ovarian atrophy.

Jafari believes that high doses of green tea may cause 'too much' apoptosis, or cell death, but in this study, she said that they did not evaluate mechanisms, which is the focus of her current research.

Derived from the plant Camellia sinensis, green tea is popular worldwide for its purported brain and heart health and anticancer properties. However, there are some reports of problems associated with excessive consumption: Jafari noted that in other tests with mice and dogs, green tea compounds in large amounts dramatically reduced body weight and, in mice, negatively affected embryo development.

Jafari said, "While green tea could have health benefits at low doses, our study and others have shown that at high doses, it may have adverse effects. Further work is needed to make any definite recommendations, but we can suggest that green tea be consumed in moderation."

The Jafari group is emerging as a leader in the study of natural food products - herbs, spices and root extracts, for example - that people have ingested for centuries because of their alleged health benefits. And fruit flies have proven useful in testing pharmaceuticals' and nutraceuticals' adverse effects.

Jafari said, "We are planning to continue to measure total consumption, evaluate metabolic pathways, and identify and quantify the metabolites of natural products in flies. These experiments will enable us to have a better understanding of toxic doses in humans."

Source: Eurekalert