L-Theanine from Green Tea: Transport and Effects on Health

Tea in Health and Disease Prevention

Volumn , Issue , 2013, Pages 425-435

  Zhang, Liang ^a,b   Zhang, Zheng Zhu ^a,b   Lu, Ya Ning ^a,b   Zhang, Jing Song ^a,b   Preedy, Victor R ^a,b  

^a ANHUI AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY   (China)

^b KING'S COLLEGE LONDON   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 84882902759     PISSN: None     EISSN: None     Source Type: Book    
DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-384937-3.00035-5     Document Type: Chapter

References (56)

1. A. Alcázar, O. Ballesteros, J.M. Jurado, et al. (2007) Differentiation of green, white, black, oolong, and pu-erh teas according to their free amino acids content. J. Agric. Food Chem. 55 5960-5965.
2. J. Bryan (2008) Psychological effects of dietary components of tea: Caffeine and L-theanine. Nutr. Rev. 66 82-90.
3. J.F. Bukowski and S.S. Percival (2008) L-theanine intervention enhances human gamma delta T lymphocyte function. Nutr. Rev. 66 96-102.
4. H.S. Cho, S. Kim, S.Y. Lee, et al. (2008) Protective effect of the green tea component, L-theanine on environmental toxins-induced neuronal cell death. Neurotoxicology 29 656-662.
5. E.A. De Bruin, H. Parnell, G.N. Owen, et al. (2008) The combined effects of L-theanine and caffeine on cognitive performance and mood. Nutr. Neurosci. 11 193-198.
6. W.W. Deng, S. Ogita and H. Ashihara (2010) Distribution and biosynthesis of theanine in Theaceae plants. Plant Physiol. Biochem. 48 70-72.
7. M.J. Desai, M.S. Gill, W.H. Hsu and D.W. Armstrong (2005) Pharmacokinetics of theanine enantiomers in rats. Chirality 17 154-162.
8. X. Di, J. Yan, Y. Zhao, et al. (2010) L-theanine protects the APP (Swedish mutation) transgenic SH-SY5Y cell against glutamate-induced excitotoxicity via inhibition of the NMDA receptor pathway. Neuroscience 168 778-786.
9. N. Egashira, K. Hayakawa, K. Mishima, et al. (2004) Neuroprotective effect of gamma-glutamylethylamide (theanine) on cerebral infarction in mice. Neurosci. Lett. 363 58-61.
10. N. Egashira, N. Ishigami, F. Pu, et al. (2008) Theanine prevents memory impairment induced by repeated cerebral ischemia in rats. Phytother. Res. 22 65-68.
11. N. Egashira, K. Hayakawa, M. Osajima, et al. (2007) Involvement of GABA(A) receptors in the neuroprotective effect of theanine on focal cerebral ischemia in mice. J. Pharmacol. Sci. 105 211-214.
12. K.H. Ekborg-Ott, A. Taylor and D.W. Armstrong (1997) Varietal differences in the total and enantiomeric composition of theanine in tea. J. Agric. Food Chem. 45 353-363.
13. T. Furuyama, T. Yamashita and S. Senoh (1964) The synthesis of L-theanine. Bull. Chem. Sco. Jpn. 37 1078.
14. T. Giesbrecht, J.A. Rycroft, M.J. Rowson and E.A. De Bruin (2010) The combination of L-theanine and caffeine improves cognitive performance and increases subjective alertness. Nutr. Neurosci. 13 283-290.
15. C.F. Haskell, D.O. Kennedy, A.L. Milne, et al. (2008) The effects of L-theanine, caffeine and their combination on cognition and mood. Biol. Psychol. 77 113-122.
16. J.T. Hong, T. Il Kim, Y.K. Lee, et al. (2009) L-theanine, an amino acid in green tea, attenuates beta-amyloid-induced cognitive dysfunction and neurotoxicity: Reduction in oxidative damage and inactivation of ERK/p38 kinase and NF-kappa B pathways. Free Radic. Biol. Med. 47 1601-1610.
17. T. Il Kim, Y.K. Lee, S.G. Park, et al. (2009) L-theanine, an amino acid in green tea, attenuates beta-amyloid-induced cognitive dysfunction and neurotoxicity: Reduction in oxidative damage and inactivation of ERK/p38 kinase and NF-kappa B pathways. Free Radic. Biol. Med 47 1601-1610.
18. J. Jankun, S.H. Selman, R. Swiercz and E. Skrzypczak-Jankun (1997) Why drinking green tea could prevent cancer. Nature 387 561.
19. L.R. Juneja, D.C. Chu, T. Okubo, et al. (1999) L-theanine a unique amino acid of green tea and its relaxation effect in humans. Trends Food Sci. Technol. 10 199-204.
20. T. Kakuda, E. Hinoi, A. Abe, et al. (2008) Theanine, an ingredient of green tea, inhibits [H-3]glutamine transport in neurons and astroglia in rat brain. J. Neurosci. Res. 86 1846-1856.
21. T. Kakuda, A. Nozawa, A. Sugimoto and H. Niino (2002) Inhibition by theanine of binding of [H-3]AMPA, [H-3]kainate, and [H-3]MDL 105,519 to glutamate receptors. Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem. 66 2683-2686.
22. T. Kakuda, H. Yanase, K. Utsunomiya, et al. (2000) Protective effect of gamma-glutamylethylamide (theanine) on ischemic delayed neuronal death in gerbils. Neurosci. Lett. 289 189-192.
23. S. Kaneko, K. Kumazawa, H. Masuda, et al. (2006) Molecular and sensory studies on the umami taste of Japanese green tea. J. Agric. Food Chem. 54 2688-2694.
24. K. Kimura, M. Ozeki, L.R. Juneja and H. Ohira (2007) L-theanine reduces psychological and physiological stress responses. Biol. Psychol. 74 39-45.
25. R. Kimura and T. Murata (1971) Influence of alkylamides of glutamic acid and related compounds on the central nervous system. I. Central depressant effect of theanine. Chem. Pharm. Bull. (Tokyo) 19 1257-1261.
26. R. Kimura and T. Murata (1980) Influence of alkylamides of glutamic acid and related compounds on the central nervous system. IV. Effect of theanine on adenosine 3’,5’-monophosphate formation in rat cerebral cortex. Chem. Pharm. Bull. (Tokyo) 28 664-666.
27. S. Kitaoka, H. Hayashi, H. Yokogoshi and Y. Suzuki (1996) Transmural potential changes associated with the in vitro absorption of theanine in the guinea pig intestine. Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem. 60 1768-1771.
28. Q. Liu, H.Y. Duan, J.L. Luan, et al. (2009) Effects of theanine on growth of human lung cancer and leukemia cells as well as migration and invasion of human lung cancer cells. Cytotechnology 59 211-217.
29. K. Lu, M.A. Gray, C. Oliver, et al. (2004) The acute effects of L-theanine in comparison with alprazolam on anticipatory anxiety in humans. Hum. Psychopharmacol. 19 457-465.
30. Y.N. Lu, J.S. Zhang, X.C. Wan, et al. (2011) Intestinal transport of pure theanine and theanine in green tea extract: Green tea components inhibit theanine absorption and promote theanine excretion. Food Chem. 125 277-281.
31. K. Miyagawa, Y. Hayashi, S. Kurihara and A. Maeda (2008) Co-administration of l-cystine and l-theanine enhances efficacy of influenza vaccination in elderly persons: Nutritional status-dependent immunogenicity. Geriatr. Gerontol. Int. 8 243-250.
32. S. Murakami, S. Kurihara, N. Koikawa, et al. (2009) Effects of oral supplementation with cystine and theanine on the immune function of athletes in endurance exercise: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem. 73 817-821.
33. S. Murakami, S. Kurihara, C.A. Titchenal, et al. (2010) Suppression of exercise-induced neutrophilia and lymphopenia in athletes by cystine/theanine intake: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. J. Int. Soc. Sports Nutr 7 23.
34. K. Nagasawa, H. Aoki, E. Yasuda, et al. (2004) Possible involvement of group I mGluRs in neuroprotective effect of theanine. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun 320 116-122.
35. P.J. Nathan, K. Lu, M. Gray and C. Oliver (2006) The neuropharmacology of L-theanine(N-ethyl-L-glutamine): a possible neuroprotective and cognitive enhancing agent. J. Herb. Pharmacother. 6 21-30.
36. A.C. Nobre, A. Rao and G.N. Owen (2008) L-theanine, a natural constituent in tea, and its effect on mental state. Asia Pac. J. Clin. Nutr 17(Suppl 1), 167-168.
37. M.D. Peterson and M.S. Mooseker (1992) Characterization of the enterocyte-like brush border cytoskeleton of the C2BBe clones of the human intestinal cell line, Caco-2. J. Cell Sci. 102(Pt 3), 581-600.
38. Y. Sadzuka, C. Inoue, S. Hirooka, et al. (2005) Effects of theanine on alcohol metabolism and hepatic toxicity. Biol. Pharm. Bull. 28 1702-1706.
39. Y. Sadzuka, T. Sugiyama, A. Miyagishima, et al. (1996) The effects of theanine, as a novel biochemical modulator, on the antitumor activity of adriamycin. Cancer Lett. 105 203-209.
40. Y. Sadzuka, T. Sugiyama and T. Sonobe (2000) Efficacies of tea components on doxorubicin induced antitumor activity and reversal of multidrug resistance. Toxicol. Lett. 114 155-162.
41. Y. Sadzuka, T. Sugiyama and T. Sonobe (2000) Improvement of idarubicin induced antitumor activity and bone marrow suppression by theanine, a component of tea. Cancer Lett. 158(2), 119-124.
42. Y. Sakato (1949) The chemical constituents of tea: III. A new amide theanine. Nippon Nogeikagaku Kaishi (in Japanese) 23 262-267.
43. M. Shimizu, Y. Shirakami and H. Moriwaki (2008) Targeting receptor tyrosine kinases for chemoprevention by green tea catechin, EGCG. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 9 1034-1049.
44. T. Sugiyama and Y. Sadzuka (1998) Enhancing effects of green tea components on the antitumor activity of adriamycin against M5076 ovarian sarcoma. Cancer Lett. 133 19-26.
45. T. Sugiyama and Y. Sadzuka (2003) Theanine and glutamate transporter inhibitors enhance the antitumor efficacy of chemotherapeutic agents. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1653 47-59.
46. T. Sugiyama and Y. Sadzuka (2004) Theanine, a specific glutamate derivative in green tea, reduces the adverse reactions of doxorubicin by changing the glutathione level. Cancer Lett. 212 177-184.
47. K.Y. Syu, C.L. Lin, H.C. Huang and J.K. Lin (2008) Determination of theanine, GABA, and other amino acids in green, oolong, black, and pu-erh teas with dabsylation and high-performance liquid chromatography. J. Agric. Food Chem. 56 7637-7764.
48. Y. Takagi, S. Kurihara, N. Higashi, et al. (2010) Combined administration of L-cystine and L-theanine enhances immune functions and protects against influenza virus infection in aged mice. J. Vet. Med. Sci. 72 157-165.
49. T. Terashima, J. Takido and H. Yokogoshi (1999) Time-dependent changes of amino acids in the serum, liver, brain and urine of rats administered with theanine. Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem. 63 615-618.
50. H. Tsuge, S. Sano, T. Hayakawa, et al. (2003) Theanine, gamma-glutamylethylamide, is metabolized by renal phosphate-independent glutaminase. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1620 47-53.
51. T. Unno, Y. Suzuki, T. Kakuda, et al. (1999) Metabolism of theanine, gamma-glutamylethylamide, in rats. J. Agric. Food Chem. 47 1593-1596.
52. P.C. van der Pijl, L. Chen and T.P.J. Mulder (2010) Human disposition of L-theanine in tea or aqueous solution. J. of Funct. Foods 2 239-244.
53. R.L. Xue, W.C. Chen, N. Wang and S.S. Li (2010) Expression of the DNA-repair protein XRCC1 and DNA–repair enzyme Ku70 mRNA in the rat cerebral cortex following global cerebral ischemia/reperfusion Is this correlated with neuroprotective effects of theanine? Neural Regener. Res. 5 41-46.
54. T. Yamada, T. Terashima, K. Wada, et al. (2007) Theanine, r-glutamylethylamide, increases neurotransmission concentrations and neurotrophin mRNA levels in the brain during lactation. Life Sci. 81 1247-1255.
55. T. Yokozawa and E. Dong (1997) Influence of green tea and its three major components upon low-density lipoprotein oxidation. Exp. Toxicol. Pathol 49 329-335.
56. G.Y. Zhang, Q. Liu, H.Y. Duan, et al. (2009) Effects of theanine on growth of human lung cancer and leukemia cells as well as migration and invasion of human lung cancer cells. Cytotechnology 59 211-217.