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Pharmacological effects of theanine

1. Effects on the central nervous system

When measuring the effect of theanine on the metabolism of monoamines in various parts of the brain, Heng Yue et al. found that theanine can significantly promote the release of dopamine in the central brain and improve the physiological activity of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is a central neurotransmitter that activates brain nerve cells, and its physiological activity is closely related to human emotional state. Although the mechanism of action of theanine in the central nervous system of the brain is not very clear. But theanine's effect on the spirit and emotion is undoubtedly partly from the effect on the physiological activity of the central neurotransmitter dopamine. Of course, the anti-fatigue effect of drinking tea is also believed to come from this effect to a certain extent.

In their other experiments, Yokogoshi et al. confirmed that taking theanine will directly affect the activity of the central neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain related to learning and memory.

2. Antihypertensive effect

It is generally believed that the regulation of human blood pressure is affected by the secretion of central and peripheral neurotransmitters catecholamine and serotonin. Studies have shown that theanine can effectively reduce spontaneous hypertension in rats. Kimura et al. believed that the antihypertensive effect of theanine may come from the regulation of the secretion of the central neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain.

The hypotensive effect shown by theanine can also be seen as a stabilizing effect to a certain extent. And this stabilizing effect will undoubtedly help the recovery of physical and mental fatigue.

3. Affects memory

Chu et al. reported that they found in Operanttest (an animal learning experiment in which food is provided along with a light switch) study and found that rats given 180 mg of theanine orally every day had better learning ability compared with the control group. certain improvement. In addition, in the study of Avoidance test (an animal memory experiment in which animals will receive electric shocks in the dark room when they enter the dark room with food from the bright room), it is also confirmed that theanine can enhance the memory ability of rats. Many studies have proved that the effect of theanine in improving learning and memory is the result of activating central neurotransmitters.

4. Relax your mind and body

As early as 1975, Kimura et al. reported that theanine can alleviate the central hyperexcitability caused by caffeine. Although the content of caffeine in tea leaves is less than that of coffee and cocoa, the presence of theanine enables people to enjoy a refreshing feeling when drinking tea that coffee and cocoa do not have.

As we all know, four kinds of brain waves, α, β, σ and θ, which are closely related to the physical and mental state of human beings, can be measured on the surface of our brain. When Chu et al. observed the effect of theanine on the brain waves of 15 young women aged 18 to 22, they found that the α-wave had a significant increase trend after oral administration of theanine for 40 minutes. But under the same experimental conditions, they did not find an effect of theanine on the theta-wave of sleep dominance. From these results, they believe that the refreshing physical and mental effect caused by taking theanine is not to make people tend to sleep, but to improve concentration.

5. Healthy food

Most of the health food products on the market are for the prevention or improvement of adult diseases. A health food like theanine that is not hypnotic, but also relieves fatigue, lowers blood pressure and improves learning and memory ability is rare and eye-catching. For this reason, theanine won the research department award at the International Food Raw Materials Conference held in Germany in 1998.

Theanine is the amino acid with the highest content in tea, accounting for more than 50% of the total free amino acids and 1%-2% of the dry weight of tea leaves. Theanine is white needle-like body, easily soluble in water. It has a sweet and refreshing taste and is a component of the taste of tea. The Japanese often use shading to increase the content of theanine in tea leaves to enhance the freshness of tea leaves.

(1) Absorption and metabolism.

After oral administration of theanine into the human body, it is absorbed through the intestinal brush border mucosa, enters the blood, and is dispersed to the tissues and organs through the blood circulation, and a part is excreted in the urine after being decomposed by the kidneys. The concentration of theanine absorbed into the blood and liver decreased after 1 hour, and the theanine in the brain reached the highest after 5 hours. After 24 hours, the theanine in the human body disappeared and was excreted in the form of urine.

(2) Regulate the changes of neurotransmitters in the brain.

Theanine affects the metabolism and release of neurotransmitters such as dopamine in the brain, and brain diseases controlled by these neurotransmitters may also be regulated or prevented.

(3) Improve learning ability and memory.

In animal experiments, it was also found that the learning ability and memory of the mice taking theanine were better than those of the control group. In animal experiments, it was found that the learning ability was tested after taking theanine for 3-4 months. The test results showed that the dopamine concentration of the mice taking theanine was high. There are many kinds of learning ability tests. One is to put the mice in a box. There is a light in the box. When the light is on, press a switch and food will come out. The mice taking theanine can master the essentials in a short time, and the learning ability is higher than that of the mice not taking theanine. The second is to take advantage of the mouse's habit of hiding in the dark. When the mouse runs into the dark, it is shocked with electric shock. The mice taking theanine tend to linger in the bright place to avoid electric shock, indicating that it is more dangerous to the dark place. strong memory. It can be seen that theanine has the effect of improving the memory and learning ability of mice.

(4) sedative effect.

Caffeine is a well-known stimulant, yet people feel relaxed, calm, and in a good mood when they drink tea. It has been confirmed that this is mainly the effect of theanine. The simultaneous intake of caffeine and amino acids has a significant inhibitory effect on excitement.

(5) Improve menstrual syndrome.

Most women have menstrual syndrome. Menstrual syndrome is a symptom of mental and physical discomfort in women aged 25-45 in the 3-10 days before menstruation. Mentally, it is mainly manifested as being easily irritable, angry, depressed, restless, unable to concentrate, etc. Physically, it is mainly manifested as easy fatigue, difficulty sleeping, headache, chest pain, lower abdominal pain, backache, cold hands and feet, etc. The sedative effect of theanine brings to mind its ameliorating effect on menstrual syndrome, which has been demonstrated in clinical trials on women.

(6) Protect nerve cells.

Theanine can inhibit nerve cell death caused by transient cerebral ischemia, and has a protective effect on nerve cells. The death of nerve cells is closely related to the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate. Cell death occurs in the presence of too much glutamate, which is often the cause of conditions such as Alzheimer's. Theanine is structurally similar to glutamic acid and will compete for binding sites, thereby inhibiting nerve cell death. Theanine may be used for the treatment and prevention of brain disorders caused by glutamate, such as cerebral embolism, cerebral hemorrhage and other cerebral apoplexy, as well as diseases such as blood deficiency and senile dementia that occur during brain surgery or brain injury.

(7) The effect of lowering blood pressure.

In animal experiments, injecting theanine into hypertensive spontaneous rats, the diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure and average blood pressure were decreased, and the degree of reduction was related to the dose, but there was no major change in heart rate; theanine was effective in normal blood pressure rats. There was no blood pressure lowering effect, indicating that theanine only had a blood pressure lowering effect on hypertensive rats. Theanine may lower blood pressure by regulating the concentration of neurotransmitters in the brain.

(8) Enhance the efficacy of anticancer drugs.

Cancer morbidity and mortality remain high, and drugs developed to treat cancer often have strong side effects. In cancer treatment, in addition to the use of anticancer drugs, a variety of drugs that suppress their side effects must be used at the same time. Theanine itself has no anti-tumor activity, but it can improve the activity of various anti-tumor drugs. When theanine and anti-tumor drugs are used together, theanine can prevent the anti-tumor drugs from flowing out of tumor cells and enhance the anti-cancer effect of the anti-tumor drugs. Theanine can also reduce the side effects of antineoplastic drugs, such as regulating the level of lipid peroxidation, reducing the side effects such as the reduction of white blood cells and bone marrow cells caused by antineoplastic drugs. Theanine also has the effect of inhibiting the infiltration of cancer cells, which is a necessary way for cancer cells to spread. Inhibiting its infiltration stops the cancer from spreading.

(9) Weight loss effect

As we all know, drinking tea has the effect of losing weight. Drinking tea for a long time makes people thin and removes people's fat. The weight loss effect of tea is the result of the joint action of various components in tea, including theanine, which is actually effective in reducing cholesterol in the body. In addition, theanine has also been found to have liver protection and antioxidant effects. The safety of theanine has also been proven.

(10) Anti-fatigue effect

Studies have found that theanine has anti-fatigue effects. Oral administration of different doses of theanine to mice for 30 days can significantly prolong the weight-bearing swimming time of mice, reduce the consumption of liver glycogen, and reduce the level of serum urea nitrogen caused by exercise; it has a significant effect on the increase of blood lactate in mice after exercise. It can promote the elimination of blood lactate after exercise. Therefore, theanine has anti-fatigue effect. The mechanism may be related to that theanine can inhibit the secretion of serotonin and promote the secretion of catecholamine (5-hydroxytryptamine has an inhibitory effect on the central nervous system, while catecholamine has an excitatory effect).

(11) Improve human immunity

An experiment recently completed by Harvard University in the United States showed that green tea, oolong tea and tea products contain a high concentration of amino groups, which can improve the working ability of human immune cells and enhance the human body's ability to resist infectious diseases.

Application of theanine in food field

As early as 1985, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recognized theanine and confirmed that the synthetic theanine is generally recognized as a safe substance (GRAS), and there is no restriction on the amount of use during use.

(1) Functional food additives: Theanine has the functions of enhancing the intensity of alpha waves in the brain, making people feel relaxed and improving memory, and has passed human trials. Therefore, it can be added to food as a functional ingredient to develop functional food that relieves nervous tension and improves intelligence. Studies have also confirmed that theanine can be added to candy, various beverages, etc. to obtain a good sedative effect. Currently Japan is actively carrying out research and development work in this area.

(2) Quality improver for tea beverages

Theanine is the main component of the fresh and refreshing taste of tea, which can buffer the bitterness of caffeine and the bitterness of tea polyphenols. At present, due to the limitation of raw materials and processing technology, the fresh and refreshing taste of tea beverages in my country is poor. Therefore, in tea beverages Adding a certain amount of theanine during the growth process can significantly improve the quality and flavor of tea beverages. The "raw tea" beverage newly developed by Japan's Kirin Company is added with theanine, and its great success in the Japanese beverage market is a typical example.

(3) Flavor improvement effect

Theanine can not only be used as a flavor modifier of green tea, but also can inhibit the bitterness and astringency in other foods, so as to improve the flavor of food. Cocoa beverages and barley tea have a unique bitter or spicy taste, and the added sweetener has an unpleasant taste. If 0.01% theanine is used to replace the sweetener, the results show that the flavor of the beverage added with theanine can be greatly improved. for improvement.

(3) Applications in other fields

Theanine can be used as a water purifier to purify drinking water; the use of theanine as an active ingredient in a deodorant has been reported in Japanese patents. Another patent reports that a substance containing theanine component can inhibit emotional dependence. Theanine is used as a moisturizer in cosmetics and as skin moisturizing food.