Protective effects of green tea on antioxidative biomarkers in chemical laboratory workers

Chemical materials are environmental contaminants, are extensively used in laboratories, and may cause various forms of health hazards in laboratory workers. Therefore, this toxicity most likely is a result of the oxidative metabolism of chemical to reactive products. As green tea (GT) possesses antioxidant effects, the objective of this study was to examine any amelioration oxidative stress in chemical laboratory workers drinking one cup (3 g/300 ml water) of freshly prepared tea once daily. Baseline characteristics including age, sex, smoking, fruit consumption, and duration of exposure were recorded via questionnaire to the subjects. Saliva level oxidative stress parameters such as total antioxidant capacity (TAC), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were estimated before and after consumption of GT in these workers. Treatment of subjects with GT induced a significant reduction in saliva GPx activity (406.61 ± 22.07 vs. 238.96 ± 16.26 U/l p = 0.001) and induction in TAC (0.46 ± 0.029 μmol/ml vs. 0.56 ± 0.031, p = 0.016). No statistically significant alteration was found for saliva SOD (0.080 ± 0.0019 vs. 0.079 ± 0.0014, p > 0.05) and CAT (20.36 ± 0.69 vs. 19.78 ± 0.71, p > 0.05) after 28 days treatment by GT. These results demonstrate that drinking GT during chemical exposure can reduce several parameters indicative of oxidative stress. In conclusion, using GT as a dietary supplement can be a rational protocol to control source of hazards in chemical laboratory workers.