A. BAHAA**, S.M. SHERIF*^#, M.S. TALAAT**, A.M. SALLAM**

* Biophysics and Laser Science Unit, Research Institute of Ophthalmology, Giza, Egypt
** Biophysics Branch, Physics department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

Tea has been cultivated for centuries, beginning in India and China. Today, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world, second only to water. Hundreds of millions of people drink tea, and studies suggest that green tea (Camellia sinensis) in particular has many health benefits. Green tea is made from unfermented leaves and reportedly contains the highest concentration of powerful antioxidants called polyphenols. Polyphenols exhibit stronger antioxidant protection for human body than vitamin C and vitamin E. Scavenging effect of lipid free-radicals (one antioxidant property) of polyphenols in green tea extracts can be clearly observed in experiments. Many researches addressed polyphenols from the perspective of its antioxidant and anticarcinogenic effect. Despite that many researches has been carried out using different physical techniques, the exact mechanism of interaction between polyphenols’ molecules and membrane lipids is not yet revealed. The aim of work is to investigate, in vitro, the mechanism of interaction between epi-gallo-catechin polyphenols molecules and cell membrane represented by liposomes. The approach of our work is based on 2 phases: first is testing the encapsulation efficiency of liposomes to polyphenols. Second, investigating the structural and phase transition temperature changes for lipid bilayer using FTIR and DSC.

Corresponding author’s e-mail: sheri_sm@yahoo.com

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