Oxidative coupling of epigallocatechin gallate resulted in great improvement in antioxidant activity such as radical scavenging activity against superoxide anion and in activity to inhibit xanthine oxidase, offering high potential as a therapeutic agent for prevention of xanthine oxidase-induced diseases such as gout.
Bio-oriented Technology Research Advancement Institution, and Department of Materials Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto 615-8510, Japan.