Paper Title
Effect of Camellia Sinensis on Mammalian Liver Cells
Abstract
With the increasing trend in consumption of Green Tea, reports of its adverse effects have also surfaced. The
component in particular with questioning effects on the liver is Catechin. This investigation aims to check the effects of
catechins from Camellia sinensis on hepatocytes. For this analysis, catechin has been identified as a drug and its
physiochemical characteristics have been determined. Cytotoxic assay and gene expression studies were performed to
determine the level of drug activity for varying drug dosage and at varying intervals. The cytotoxic assays indicated a reduction
of cell viability with increasing concentration of catechin and at prolonged exposure. Gene expression studies show a marked
upregulation of CYP 2B6 and CYP3A4 at specific concentrations of the drug. This study points to the possibility that catechin
extracted from Camellia sinensis is potentially hepatotoxic to mammalian liver cells, if over consumed. The possible toxicity
was narrowed down to Epigallocatechingallate by computational studies.
Index Terms - Catechin, Hepatotoxicity, Mammalian Cells