Green Tea Extract Dangerous?

Is green tea extract toxic to the liver?

Green tea extract has been a very popular ingredient in the majority of fat burners and detox supplements for the past few years.

A number of recent studies have identified a correlation between green tea extract and it’s toxicity to the liver…

Green Tea Extract Toxic to the Liver
​Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is a polyphenol found in green tea
extract that enhances the action of insulin, improves blood vessel health, lowers blood pressure and promotes weight loss. However, a study on mice from China and Rutgers University found that EGCG was toxic to the liver by reducing important antioxidants that protect it from free radical damage. Free radicals are highly reactive chemicals linked to cell membrane damage, destruction of DNA and cell death. Bodybuilders should be extremely careful about taking supplements that affect individual performance or physiological variables. While they might improve performance, they could also have serious side effects. (Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 283: 65-74, 2015)

Genes Influence Toxicity of Green Tea Extract
​Animal studies have shown that the active chemical in green tea extract, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), is toxic to the liver at high doses. Green tea is a wildly successful human supplement used for weight loss and boosting energy levels. Rachel Church from the Institute for Drug Safety Sciences in Durham, North Carolina and colleagues, in a study on mice, found that genetics influence individual differences in liver toxicity experience by the animals. Some animals are genetically more predisposed to liver toxicity from taking green tea than others. This finding is an important lesson to athletes taking drugs and supplements— they affect people differently depending upon their individual genetics. (Food and Chemical Toxicology, 75:19-26, 2015)