Green Tea Phenols May Correct Dysfunctional Salivary Glands
LOZENGE TO RELIEVE XEROSTOMIA POSSIBLE THIS YEAR The tea leaves say a simple lozenge may relieve xerostomia symptoms. Researchers are investigating an all natural lozenge that harnesses green tea’s polyphenols (antioxidants which remove free radicals) to coax more normal function
Green Tea Phenols May Correct Dysfunctional Salivary Glands
The tea leaves say a simple lozenge may relieve xerostomia symptoms. Researchers are investigating an all-natural lozenge that harnesses green tea’s polyphenols (antioxidants which remove free radicals) to coax more normal function from dysfunctional salivary glands. A team at Georgia Health Sciences University College of Dental Medicine (GHSU) in Augusta has combined polyphenols from green tea with xylitol and jaborandi leaf extract in a formula designed to provide slow, extended release in the oral cavity.
Keeping active ingredients within the boundaries of the oral cavity is an important characteristic of the lozenge, which reduces the likelihood of undesirable side effects that can be caused by prescription xerostomia medications that act systemically.
Testing is underway on patients whose saliva-producing glands are present in the body but do not function. Scientists already understand salivary gland inflammation and low numbers of antioxidants can help cause xerostomia, and likewise understand that free radicals can cause genetic damage and abnormal growth that heightens risk for the condition. Researchers have chosen to study the green tea phenols to determine their ability to correct the salivary gland’s abnormal behavior.
“I think the promise here is that patients are going to feel better and we’re going to see some improvement not only in how their salivary glands function and how their mouth feels, but also how the glands look on a cellular level,” observes Scott De Rossi, DMD, the study’s principal investigator and chairman of the Department of Oral Health and Diagnostic Sciences at GHSU.
Patients receive four daily doses of the lozenge—the equivalent of four or five cups of green tea—throughout the 8-week clinical trial. Researchers say they hope the beneficial effects of the lozenge will continue for hours after it dissolves. They add that the lozenge may be available by year’s end.
Support for the study included $75,000 as part of an Innovation in Oral Care Award given by GlaxoSmithKline and the International Association for Dental Research. The award is presented to oral care programs that develop innovations which ultimately can be used at the public health level.
Source: Georgia Health Sciences University
