What Is HS Labs Green Tea Leaf Extract?
Green Tea Leaf Extract is quite a popular herbal extract with a myriad of beneficial properties, especially for supporting fat loss, antioxidant status, and immune function. Green tea leaves are naturally rich in compounds called catechins, which are types of polyphenols. It’s key that you use a green tea extract that has a high concentration of polyphenols as these are ultimately what have the most biological activity (and therefore, the most benefits).
Benefits of Green Tea Leaf Extract
The major beneficial compound in green tea leaves is a polyphenol known as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG).
EGCG works as an inhibitor of catechol-O-methyl transferase - an enzyme that the body uses to breakdown catecholamines. Catecholamines are a class of neurotransmitters, specifically dopamine, adrenaline, and noradrenaline, that work to “excite” your nervous system. Therefore, consuming green tea leaf extract/EGCG enhances the activity of these neurotransmitters, which has a beneficial effect on fat burning.[2]
Research shows that EGCG is also an anti-carcinogenic agent and has potent antioxidant effects.[1]
Moreover, EGCG has been shown to increase activation of a key protein in the body that regulates fat production and breakdown, called adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPk). AMPk is generally activated when the cell is in an energetically-deprived state, meaning the ATP:ADP ratio has dropped enough; in turn, this helps increase lipolysis, enhance fatty acid oxidation, improve glucose uptake into muscle tissue, and inhibit lipogenesis. [3,4] Essentially, AMPk is the “metabolic switch” for burning fat. Naturally then, consuming green tea polyphenols will help enhance the fat loss process.
How Much Green Tea Leaf Extract Should I Use?
The amount of green tea leaf extract to use will depend on the concentration of polyphenols provided by the extract you use. HS Labs Green Tea Tablets contains 1000 mg of green tea leaf extract standardized to contain no less than 50% polyphenols per serving (i.e. each tablet provides at least 500 mg of polyphenols) to help you boost your fat loss efforts and overall wellness!
References:
1.Shankar, S., Ganapathy, S., Hingorani, S. R., & Srivastava, R. K. (2007). EGCG inhibits growth, invasion, angiogenesis, and metastasis of pancreatic cancer. Frontiers in bioscience: a journal and virtual library, 13, 440-452.
2.Hill, A. M., Coates, A. M., Buckley, J. D., Ross, R., Thielecke, F., & Howe, P. R. (2007). Can EGCG reduce abdominal fat in obese subjects?. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 26(4), 396S-402S.
3.Tokunaga C, Yoshino K, Yonezawa K (2004). mTOR integrates amino acid- and energy-sensing pathways. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 313 (2): 443–6. doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2003.07.019. PMID 14684182
4.Hwang, J. T., Park, I. J., Shin, J. I., Lee, Y. K., Lee, S. K., Baik, H. W., ... & Park, O. J. (2005). Genistein, EGCG, and capsaicin inhibit adipocyte differentiation process via activating AMP-activated protein kinase. Biochemical and biophysical research communications, 338(2), 694-699.