Abstract: Objective 　To explore the effects of tea polyphenol (TP) on peripheral nerve injury and repair.　Methods　48 adult BALB/c mice were randomly divided into three groups: a TP treatment group,  a saline control group and a sham group. The right sciatic nerve of each mouse in the TP treatment group and the saline control group was injured by crush and then the mice were intragastrically administrated with TP or saline twice per day for successive 14 days. The mice in sham group were only exposed their right sciatic nerve without other treatment. The motor function of each mouse was detected by footprint assay and the sensory function was evaluated with acupuncture assessment 14 days after the surgery. Subsequently, the sciatic nerves of 6 mice in each group were collected for qPCR assay. The other 10 mice of each group were subjected to perform the NF-200 / MBP double immunostaining to show the regenerated axons and myelin in the distal trunk of the injured nerves. The gastrocnemius muscle was weighed and then to prepare the HE stained section.　Results　Compared with the saline control group, the TP treatment resulted in significantly improved functions of motor and sensory, higher wet weight ratio of gastrocnemius muscle and bigger area size of cross-section of myofibers, as well as more regenerated axons and myelin in the injured nerves. Conclusions　This study show that tea polyphenols could improve the behavioral functional loss and neuropathologic changes caused by nerve injury. 

Key words: Tea polyphenol (TP）, 　Periphral nerve injure, 　Nerve regeneration