Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2001

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design

Department

Biochemistry

Committee Chair

Knox Van Dyke.

Abstract

Green tea is a complex mixture containing several major potent antioxidants e.g., flavins and/or polyphenols. These antioxidants in green tea may react directly or indirectly with strong oxidizers e.g. peroxynitrite or its constituents (superoxide or nitric oxide). Green tea antioxidants can destroy the oxidants. Based on a simple chemical interaction of peroxynitrite (OONO-) and luminol, blue light is produced upon oxidation. It was shown that green tea and constituents have light inhibitory capabilities. In order to show the possible beneficial effects of green tea with DNA, plasmids were chosen to determine whether or not green tea was also capable of preventing oxidative based damage (mutations). It can be deduced that there are multiple levels of antioxidative protection. First, antioxidants can destroy the pieces of peroxynitrite (·O2 and ·NO), protect from peroxynitrite itself, or protect from the damage caused to DNA by peroxynitrite.

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