Cancer, a global disease affecting millions of people, is characterized by uncontrolled cell division due to mutations within the cell. The resulting cell mass continues to rapidly grow, resulting in tumours. Epigallocatechin gallate is a polyphenolic catechin found in green tea leaves that has been shown to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Recently, it has also been shown to have anti-cancerous effects on various breast cancer cell lines. The effects include inhibiting cancer cell line growth, down-regulating estrogen receptor function, inducing apoptosis, inhibiting tumour promotion, and exhibiting antioxidant properties. This shows that epigallocatechin gallate is a potential cancer therapeutic agent. Although these are promising in vitro results, epigallocatechin gallate does not readily cross the cellular phospholipid bilayer in vivo. It is hypothesized that epigallocatechin gallate could be carried through the plasma membrane and into the cell when attached to a lipid molecule. The molecule that is currently being tested as a carrier molecule is the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid. The analytical technique affinity capillary electrophoresis has been used to determine that epigallocatechin gallate and docosahexaenoic acid have a reasonably strong interaction of 4.0 (± 1.2) x 104 at physiological pH.
