EFFECT ON EYE DISEASES

Generally, insults related to active oxygen increase with aging, causing various diseases. Among eye organs, crystalline lens and retina are most influenced by active oxygen. Cataract is a disease that crystalline lens become cloudy and 90% of it is senile cataract, where crystalline lens become cloudy because of cloudy unsoluble protein when soluble protein in crystalline lens is oxidized by active oxygen (lipid dioxide) with aging. Senile Ouhanhenseisho of retina is the first cause of blindness among senior people in the United States and is a disease to cause the failure of eyesight.. This is a disease that eye cells to distinguish characters and colors in Ouhanbu of retina has a failure. Being an obstinate disease, its structure of causing, prevention and remedies are not known yet. Prior to the recognition of the disease, Ribofusuchin material called Doruze appears, which might be related to the retina disease. Ripofusuchin is known to increase with aging in many organs such as brain and heart. The generation system of Ripofusuchin is unknown but it is inferred that it is generated when aldehyde, lipid dioxide, which is generated when un-saturated lipid in cell membrane is oxidized by active oxygen and reacts with protein. To prevent the oxidative influence by active oxygen, there are various anti-oxidative materials in human body. It is regarded that water soluble anti-oxidative material against oxidation of crystalline lens and lipid soluble anti-oxidative material against oxidation of retina are working. Tea leaves contain many anti-oxidative materials: water soluble vitamin C, lipid soluble vitamin E and carotene, water and lipid soluble catechins, and epigallocatechin gallate, which is unique in tea. In vitro experiment, tea catechins significantly reduces the generation of water soluble Ripofusuchin　Fluorescent substance generated by oxidation of retina of a pig, and especially, it prevents the generation of aldehyde from dioxidized lipid. With further research, drinking tea that contains various anti-oxidative materials such as catechins will be proven to be effective on eye diseases. Therefore, tea, which contains caffeine, theanene and catechins are expected to be effective on dimentia.

(Mitsuaki Sano)