Leila Zareian - MSc, Animal Physiology Department, Basic Sciences Faculty, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran
Amir Azarhomayoun - MD, Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran
Maysam Alimohamadi - MD, Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Center (BASIR), Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran
Mohammadreza Khajavi - MD, Department of Anesthesiology, Sina Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Background and Aim: Traumatic brain injury is one of the leading causes of mortality and disability in young adults. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate, the antioxidant compound of green tea, has been proposed to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This study evaluates the potential effects of epigallocatechin-3-gallate on the early clinical outcome and serum S100B levels (biomarker for brain tissue damage severity) in patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Methods and Materials/Patients: Thirty patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury admitted to the intensive care unit were enrolled. The patients were randomly allocated to treatment with either a daily oral dose of 400 mg epigallocatechin-3-gallate or placebo (distilled water) for seven days. The main outcome measures were duration of mechanical ventilation and ICU stay, Glasgow Coma Scale, and S100B protein level. Results: The results revealed a significant improvement in consciousness level after seven days in the epigallocatechin-3-gallate group (2.93±3.9 unit improvement in GCS versus 0.14±3.05 reduction in GCS, p-value:0.033). There was also a significantly shorter duration of mechanical ventilation in the epigallocatechin-3-gallate compared to the control group (5.1 days versus 9.8 days, p-value:0.02). Reduction of the serum S100B level was slightly higher in the epigallocatechin-3-gallate group (23.96 versus 18.6 pg/ml) but the difference was not statistically sign ificant. Conclusion: Epigallocatechin-3-gallate supplementation had beneficial effects on consciousness level of the patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury in the acute phase

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate; Head Trauma; Neuroprotection; S100B Protein; Traumatic Brain Injury