**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** PARKINSON'S DISEASE (PD) IS THE SECOND MOST COMMON NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE NEXT TO ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, AFFECTING ABOUT 1-2% OF THE POPULATION OLDER THAN 60 YEARS OF AGE. NEARLY1 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE U.S. ARE LIVING WITH PD, AND THE NUMBER IS PREDICTED TO RISE TO 1.2 MILLION BY 2030. THE PD IS BECOMING MORE COMMON, AND BEING RECOGNIZED AS AN IMPORTANT PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN, AS THE NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDER CAUSES A GROWING MORTALITY RATE WORLDWIDE, PARTICULARLY IN THE ELDERLY. THE PD ALSO HAS IMPOSED A CONSIDERABLE SOCIAL-ECONOMIC BURDEN AND INCREASE IN MEDICAL EXPENSES. THE HEALTHCARE COSTS RELATED TO PD IS ESTIMATED TO BE NEARLY $ 52 BILLION PER YEAR IN THE UNITED STATES. TEA IS ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR BEVERAGES CONSUMED ACROSS THE WORLD. TEA CONTAINS A MIXTURE OF NATURAL FLAVONOIDS, CALLED TEA CATECHINS (TCS) WHICH OFFER A SPECTRUM OF HEALTH BENEFITS TO ANIMALS AND HUMANS, INCLUDING PROTECTIONS FROM CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES, CANCERS, AS WELL AS NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES, INCLUDING PARKINSON'S DISEASE (PD). THE HUMAN STUDIES IN JAPAN, UNITED STATES AND FINLAND HAVE SUGGESTED PRESENCE OF A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEA CONSUMPTION AND LOWER RATES OF COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AND THE RISK OF PD. THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO INVESTIGATE THE THERAPEUTIC AND PREVENTIVE EFFECTS OF FOOD BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS ON TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF CHRONIC HUMAN DISEASES. THE IMMEDIATE GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO STUDY THE EFFECTS OF TEA COMPONENTS ON PROTECTION OF NEURON DAMAGE IN TRANSGENIC PD MOUSE MODEL AND TRANSGENIC PD NEMATODES MODEL AND TO EXAMINE ROLES OF COMPOSITION OF THE GUT MICROBES AND GUT-MICROBES-DEPENDENT METABOLISM IN MODULATION OF EFFICACIES OF TEA COMPONENTS IN PROTECTION OF BRAIN NEURONS.