EGCG vs Green tea extract
Written by Aaron CuhaReviewed Sep 2026
The short answer
The single green tea compound and the extract it comes from, which people treat as the same purchase. Both carry the same warning sign. An early trial of 800 mg EGCG a day in multiple sclerosis was stopped after 5 of 7 people on it got abnormal liver tests. In 1,075 women taking 843 mg EGCG a day for a year, raised liver enzymes showed up in 6.7 percent, against 0.7 percent on a dummy pill.
- EGCG people
- 1,172
- EGCG nulls
- 1
- Green tea extract people
- 1,075
- Green tea extract nulls
- 0
Dose
No human dose established
Amounts that were given in studies sit in Human evidence on this page. None of them is a personal dose.
3 completed trials, 1,172 people given it
Dose
No human dose established
Amounts that were given in studies sit in Human evidence on this page. None of them is a personal dose.
1 completed trial, 1,075 people given it
First-hand reports are counted on each profile and never added together. This page sets two published records side by side. It does not pick a winner.
Column A
EGCGEpigallocatechin-3-gallate, the principal catechin of green tea
A mid-stage study of 800 mg of EGCG a day in multiple sclerosis was stopped by its safety board. 5 of the 7 people on the treatment had abnormal liver tests, one of them serious. The biggest study of whether it helps, in 84 young adults with Down's syndrome over twelve months, found no real difference on 13 of 15 thinking tests.
Column B
Green tea extractGreen tea extract (Camellia sinensis catechin concentrate, EGCG-rich)
In people, the biggest study gave 1,075 women 843 mg of EGCG a day for a year. Liver blood tests went up in 6.7 percent of them, against 0.7 percent on a dummy pill. A review of weight loss studies found no weight loss that matters. In mice, it did not extend lifespan by the NIA program's standard test. A second look, using a test that counts early deaths more, found a 7 percent gain in typical female lifespan.
Side by side, on the facts we can check
| What we compare | EGCG | Green tea extract |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Antioxidant | Longevity |
| FDA status | Not an approved drug as a pill. An ointment made from green tea catechins is approved for genital warts on the skin. That is a different way of using it, for a different purpose. EGCG taken by mouth is sold as a dietary supplement. | Not an approved drug. Sold as a dietary supplement. The lifespan hint in female mice comes only from a second look at the data using one statistical test (the Gehan test). Supplement doses of 800 mg EGCG a day or more have been shown to raise liver enzymes, a warning sign for the liver, in controlled studies in people (EFSA 2018). |
| Half-life | Roughly 3 to 5 hours in plasma for free EGCG after an oral dose, with conjugated forms persisting longer. | Not reported |
| Molecular weight | 458.4 Da. A catechin, not a peptide. | Not reported |
| How it works | EGCG is a plant compound with a chemical group that makes it a strong antioxidant in a dish. It also lets it stick loosely to a huge range of proteins. That is why the research on how it works is enormous and scattered. Known effects include blocking DYRK1A, an enzyme made by a gene on chromosome 21, which is why it was tried in Down's syndrome. It also turns on the NRF2 cleanup pathway. How it damages the liver is not known. In studies the damage rises with dose, and it is more common when strong products are taken on an empty stomach. A gene analysis from a separate one-year study found that people with one version of a liver-clearing gene, UGT1A4, had about two to three times the rise in a liver enzyme. That points to differences in how people clear it, not to one toxic breakdown product. | EGCG and the other catechins are plant compounds that act as antioxidants in a dish. In cells they also touch many enzymes and signals. Unless the extract is decaf, it also has caffeine. Caffeine explains much of what people feel, and some of the small calorie-burning effect studied for weight loss. How it harms the liver in people is not fully known. In trials, the harm rises with dose and shows up more when taken on an empty stomach. In a second look at the Minnesota trial, ALT rose more in women who carry one version of a gene (UGT1A4). That gene helps the liver process catechins for removal. The mouse lifespan program picked the extract because it is an antioxidant. Nobody looked into why a midlife signal showed up in females and not males. |
| Studies in people | 3 | 2 |
| Evidence | Strong: 3 completed trials, 1,172 people given it | Moderate: 1 completed trial, 1,075 people given it |
| Legal status, US | Sold as a supplement | Sold as a dietary supplement |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between EGCG and Green tea extract?
EGCG: A mid-stage study of 800 mg of EGCG a day in multiple sclerosis was stopped by its safety board. 5 of the 7 people on the treatment had abnormal liver tests, one of them serious. The biggest study of whether it helps, in 84 young adults with Down's syndrome over twelve months, found no real difference on 13 of 15 thinking tests. Green tea extract: In people, the biggest study gave 1,075 women 843 mg of EGCG a day for a year. Liver blood tests went up in 6.7 percent of them, against 0.7 percent on a dummy pill. A review of weight loss studies found no weight loss that matters. In mice, it did not extend lifespan by the NIA program's standard test. A second look, using a test that counts early deaths more, found a 7 percent gain in typical female lifespan.
Which has stronger research evidence, EGCG or Green tea extract?
Each compound gets a band worked out from facts we counted, with the math shown. EGCG is Strong (3 completed trials, 1,172 people given it). Green tea extract is Moderate (1 completed trial, 1,075 people given it). That counts how much has been done in people. It does not rate whether either one works, and neither one is called the winner.
Are EGCG and Green tea extract FDA-approved?
EGCG: Not an approved drug as a pill. An ointment made from green tea catechins is approved for genital warts on the skin. That is a different way of using it, for a different purpose. EGCG taken by mouth is sold as a dietary supplement.. Green tea extract: Not an approved drug. Sold as a dietary supplement. The lifespan hint in female mice comes only from a second look at the data using one statistical test (the Gehan test). Supplement doses of 800 mg EGCG a day or more have been shown to raise liver enzymes, a warning sign for the liver, in controlled studies in people (EFSA 2018)..
Reviewed Sep 2026. This page puts two published records side by side. It is for learning, and it is not medical advice. When this site shows a dose, it is the dose a trial or a clinic actually used, or what people say they did, with the source attached. None of it tells you what to take.