title: Effects of tea catechins on the gastrointestinal mucosa in rats.
abstract: Although tea catechins are known to exert a potent antiulcer effect on the alimentary tract, there is scant information concerning their effects on normal mucus cell functions. Using original anti-mucin monoclonal antibodies, we studied the influences of long-term administration of catechins on the quantity and quality of mucin in rat gastrointestinal mucosa. Administration of 0.5% tea catechins significantly increased the mucin content of the ileum, but not the stomach. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed no remarkable qualitative changes in gastric mucin, but a selective increase and decrease in sulfo- and sialomucins, respectively, in the ileum of rats administered catechins. The ELISA results were consistent with both the immunohistochemical findings and the high-iron diamine-alcian blue staining pattern. These findings indicate that tea catechins modulate ileal mucin metabolism in the ileal mucosa, suggesting that further studies focusing on the ileal epithelium will assist in further elucidation of the mechanism of catechin effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Regulation Biochemistry, Kitasato University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Sagamihara, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Takafumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ichikawa
authors.forename: Tomohisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iwai
authors.forename: Yoichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Saegusa
authors.forename: Tomoaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ikezawa
authors.forename: Yukinobu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Goso
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishihara
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002392:Catechin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D009077:Mucins / Q000378:metabolism; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013662:Tea / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D009077:Mucins; D010936:Plant Extracts; D013662:Tea; D002392:Catechin