Faith Luk (faithluk@mail.weber.edu)

"Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) are proteins or lipids that become glycated as a result of exposure to sugars. Glycative stress is defined as a cellular status with abnormal and accelerated accumulation of AGEs and is associated with the development of diseases such as Alzheimer's, diabetes and various types of carcinomas. In order to combat the accumulation of AGEs, mechanisms that prevent glycative stress are of interest. Acyl Peptide Enzyme Hydrolase (APEH, also called Oxidized Protein Hydrolase (OPH)) is a dual function enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of N-terminal acetylated amino acids and also degrades oxidized and damaged proteins as a result of AGEs. Building off recently published work showing that tea extracts can activate APEH/OPH, we hypothesized that herbal tea extracts may reduce AGEs by enhancing APEH activity. We have tested various types of herbal tea extracts to determine effects on APEH activity and have found extracts with both activating and inhibiting effects. Next we will test if activating tea extracts have a different effect on AGEs compared to inhibiting tea extracts. If successful, this work suggests that certain herbal teas could contribute to the prevention of diseases such as Alzheimer's, diabetes and various types of carcinomas by activating APEH and reducing the accumulation of AGEs.
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