
09/06/2023
Green Tea and Oral Lichen Planus
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Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a common T-cell-mediated inflammatory autoimmune disease with the features of disease chronicity, adult onset, female predilection and depressed immune suppressor activity.
Study results demonstrate that green tea can inhibit antigen presentation, T-cell activation, proliferation and migration, keratinocyte apoptosis, nuclear factor-kappaB activation and MMP-9 activation in the pathogenesis of oral lichen planus.
Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) of green tea possesses anti-inflammatory and chemopreventive properties.
Hence green tea, especially EGCG, is likely to be a suitable therapeutic candidate for OLP. Green tea might be also a possible agent for preventing malignancies in OLP.
Zhang, J., & Zhou, G. (2012). Green tea consumption: an alternative approach to managing oral lichen planus. Inflammation Research, 61(6), 535–539. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00011-012-0440-z