COMT V158M is most known for understanding the variation of dopamine’s baseline level and metabolic breakdown. Heterozygous or homozygous variants for the COMT V158M gene slow down the COMT enzyme, affecting estrogen metabolism and the breakdown of dopamine and stress hormones. The valine variant catabolizes dopamine at up to four times the rate of the methionine variant while the methionine variant results in a 40% decrease in functional enzyme activity.
A lesser-known connection is how each genotype affects polyphenol intake. Multiple studies1,2 in men and women have found that green tea polyphenols were retained the highest in the homozygous AA genotype, to a lesser extent in the heterozygous genotype (in men but remained high in women), and the lowest in the wild-type GG genotype. Due to the lowest retention for the GG genotype, the dosage of green tea would need to be higher and more frequent to obtain the same benefit.
Catechol Polyphenols and COMT
Catechol polyphenols – green tea, coffee, berries, and chocolate – inhibit COMT. The heterozygous and homozygous genotypes already experience COMT moving at a reduced rate which means further inhibition allows longer retention of these polyphenols. Further inhibition also means that the tolerance for catechols is lower, while the requirement and tolerance are higher in the wild-type GG genotype.
Green tea has been found to be beneficial for breast cancer prevention in the AG and AA genotype because these individuals retained the polyphenols the longest. The wild type may need more to achieve the same benefit. For EGCG, there appear to be conflicting results for in vitro vs. in vivo. In vitro says that EGCG inhibits COMT. However, in vivo says it does not inhibit COMT and therefore should not pose any issue to COMT variants, even at higher doses.
Depending on your needs, including these polyphenols may be required to help achieve your goal. Getting the dosage right can mean seeing a result or falling short of the benefit.
Check Your Nutrition Genome Report
To quickly see your polyphenol requirement, check out the Phytonutrient module under the Macronutrient Metabolism tab of the Nutrition Genome Report.
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