Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't this study just suggest that the caffeine
is doing just what other stimulants do, they increase dopamine and stimulate methylation on a temporary basis. Does this really result in any net gains, and does this apply to a human with low glutathione. Obviously improvement in lipid peroxidation, SOD activity etc., is desirable; however, I wonder how well this translates to someone who has abnormal methylation capacity. In someone with low glutathione would this have any lasting consequence if they are not correcting the limiting factors. I would have to speculate that there is a consequence to this binge since glutathione resources are finite, and a temporary rise in brain concentration could result in deficits later. At least that is how I have always looked at it; everyone has finite resources, but ours are much more susceptible to the effects of stimulating energy.
is doing just what other stimulants do, they increase dopamine and stimulate methylation on a temporary basis. Does this really result in any net gains, and does this apply to a human with low glutathione. Obviously improvement in lipid peroxidation, SOD activity etc., is desirable; however, I wonder how well this translates to someone who has abnormal methylation capacity. In someone with low glutathione would this have any lasting consequence if they are not correcting the limiting factors. I would have to speculate that there is a consequence to this binge since glutathione resources are finite, and a temporary rise in brain concentration could result in deficits later. At least that is how I have always looked at it; everyone has finite resources, but ours are much more susceptible to the effects of stimulating energy.
In this study, caffeine seems to increase reduced glutathione in the rat brain:
Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2011 Jun 15. [Epub ahead of print]
Chronic coffee and caffeine ingestion effects on the cognitive
function and antioxidant system of rat brains.
Abreu RV, Silva-Oliveira EM, Moraes MF, Pereira GS, Moraes-Santos T.
Laboratrio de Nutrio Experimental (LNE), Faculdade de Farmcia,
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antnio Carlos, 6627,
Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil; Ncleo de
Neurocincias, Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofsica, Instituto de
Cincias Biolgicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antnio
Carlos, 6627, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 31270-901,
Brazil, 31270-901.
Coffee is a popular beverage consumed worldwide and its effect on
health protection has been well studied throughout literature. This
study investigates the effect of chronic coffee and caffeine ingestion
on cognitive behavior and the antioxidant system of rat brains. The
paradigms of open field and object recognition were used to assess
locomotor and exploratory activities, as well as learning and memory.
The antioxidant system was evaluated by determining the activities of
glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and
superoxide dismutase (SOD), as well as the lipid peroxidation and
reduced glutathione content. Five groups of male rats were fed for
approximately 80days with different diets: control diet (CD), fed a
control diet; 3% coffee diet (3%Co) and 6% coffee diet (6%Co), both
fed a diet containing brewed coffee; 0.04% caffeine diet (0.04%Ca) and
0.08% caffeine diet (0.08%Ca), both fed a control diet supplemented
with caffeine. The estimated caffeine intake was approximately 20 and
40mg/kg per day, for the 3%Co-0.04%Ca and 6%Co-0.08%Ca treatments,
respectively. At 90days of life, the animals were subjected to the
behavioral tasks and then sacrificed. The results indicated that the
intake of coffee, similar to caffeine, improved long-term memory when
tested with object recognition; however, this was not accompanied by
an increase in locomotor and exploratory activities. In addition,
chronic coffee and caffeine ingestion reduced the lipid peroxidation
of brain membranes and increased the concentration of reduced-
glutathione. The activities of the GR and SOD were similarly
increased, but no change in GPx activity could be observed. Thus,
besides improving cognitive function, our data show that chronic
coffee consumption modulates the endogenous antioxidant system in the
brain. Therefore, chronic coffee ingestion, through the protection of
the antioxidant system, may play an important role in preventing age-
associated decline in the cognitive function.
Copyright 2011. Published by Elsevier Inc.
PMID: 21693129 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]