A research team from Tel Aviv University suggested that red wine and green tea could treat certain congenital metabolic diseases, by blocking toxic metabolite formations. Since people with inborn metabolic disorders are born with a defective gene, it leads to a critical enzyme deficiency. Since there is no cure, many patients with congenital metabolic disorders are required to follow a lifelong strict diet.

This research was led by a doctoral student Shira Shaham-Niv and his professor, Ehud Gazit from TAU's Faculty of Life Sciences and the results were published in the Nature group journal Communications Chemistry.

An epigallocatechin gallate EGCG, present in green tea and tannic acid in red wine, prevents the formation of toxic amyloid structures that could trigger neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

Shira Shaham-Niv said, "In the case of inborn congenital metabolic diseases, the body does not produce a vital metabolic enzyme; As a result, metabolites -- substances that are, among other things, the building blocks of DNA and proteins -- accumulate in the body. Such uncontrolled accumulation is toxic and can cause severe developmental and mental disorders.”

Shaham-Niv further added, "Our new study demonstrates once again the ability of nature to produce the best candidate of drugs to treat some of the worst human maladies; The avoidance of certain substances is the only way to prevent the debilitating long-term effects of inborn congenital metabolic disorders. We hope that our new approach will facilitate the development of new drugs to treat these disorders."