Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin
Online ISSN : 1347-5215
Print ISSN : 0918-6158
ISSN-L : 0918-6158
Regular Article
Structure-Dependent Inhibitory Effects of Green Tea Catechins on Insulin Secretion from Pancreatic β-Cells
Yukiko K. KanekoMiki TakiiYumiko KojimaHiroko YokosawaTomohisa Ishikawa
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2015 Volume 38 Issue 3 Pages 476-481

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Abstract

The effects of green tea catechins on glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) were investigated in the β-cell line INS-1D. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) at 10 µM or gallocatechin gallate (GCG) at 30 µM caused significant inhibitory effects on GSIS, and each of these at 100 µM almost abolished it. In contrast, epicatechin (EC) or catechin (CA) had no effect on GSIS at concentrations up to 100 µM. We thus investigated the structure–activity relationship by using epigallocatechin (EGC) and gallocatechin (GC) containing a trihydroxyl group in the B-ring, and epicatechin gallate (ECG) and catechin gallate (CG) containing the gallate moiety. EGC, GC, and ECG caused an inhibition of GSIS, although significant effects were obtained only at 100 µM. At this concentration, EGC almost abolished GSIS, whereas GC and ECG partially inhibited it. In contrast, CG did not affect GSIS at concentrations up to 100 µM. EGCG also abolished the insulin secretion induced by tolbutamide, an ATP-sensitive K+ channel blocker, and partially inhibited that induced by 30 mM K+. Moreover, EGCG, but not EC, inhibited the oscillation of intracellular Ca2+ concentration induced by 11.1 mM glucose. These results suggest that some catechins at supraphysiological concentrations have inhibitory effects on GSIS, the potency of which depends on their structure; the order of potency was EGCG>GCG>EGC>GC≈ECG. The inhibitory effects seem to be mediated by the inhibition of voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels, which is caused, at least in part, by membrane hyperpolarization resulting from the activation of K+ channels.

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© 2015 The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan
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