Every seven minutes of every day in Canada someone dies from a cardiovascular disease. Since 1956, Canada has spent over $1 billion dollars on heart disease research, including conditions such as atherosclerosis and hypertension (high blood pressure).

Hannah Boone (age 14) and Megan Howse (age 15) both plan to enter professional medicine were very interested in the sanofi-aventis Biotalent Challenge. When they heard Prof. Fereidoon Shahidi of the Department of BioChemistry at Newfoundland’s Memorial University one day on the radio, they contacted him.

Dr. Shahidi had been talking about his research on the anti-cancer properties of a compound comprised of an Omega 3 fatty acid (DHA), found in fish or algae oil, and the antioxidant EGCG, found in green tea. He mentioned that the compound seemed to inhibit cholesterol oxidation – one of the root causes of atherosclerosis. Dr. Shahidi agreed with Megan and Hannah that this would be a good area for further research.

In January, Hannah, a Grade 9 student at St. Paul’s Jr. High School in St. John’s, and Megan, a Grade 10 at O’Donel High School in Mount Pearl, started testing whether the compound would be absorbed by the body better than EGCG alone. Absorption rates for antioxidants are critical in medicines – the higher the rate, the less medication is required and the chance of adverse side effects is reduced.

They also wanted to see if it would reduce hypertension.

The results were encouraging. Per their hunch, the girls found the compound that includes the fatty acid was indeed absorbed better than the antioxidant alone (72% vs 57%). It also better inhibited an underlying cause of hypertension (compound 100%, EGCG alone 55%).

Hannah and Megan both want to continue the project. Dr. Shahidi likewise sees a future for the green tea-derived compound saying: “It can be taken further for cellular, animal and clinical studies, as well as potential commercialization.”

“The coolest part was probably going in to the lab. We had such great experiences that we wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else,” say Hannah and Megan, who thanked Dr. Shahidi’s assistant Dr. Joy Zhong for her advice on and help on the project.