Green Tea Aids Antibiotics in Defeating Superbug Infections
Posted on March 31, 2008
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A simple beverage enjoyed by people in many cultures throughout the world may make antibiotic medications three times more effective against dangerous superbugs like MRSA and Clostridium Difficile. Egyptian pharmacy researchers recently found that drinking green tea bolsters the antibacterial impact of many types of antibiotics, enhancing their ability to kill even virulent bacteria studied.
Researchers analyzed the combined effects of green tea and antibiotics on 28 different infectious microorganisms, according to a Society for General Microbiology press release. The green tea increased the antibacterial effect of antibiotic medicines in every case said Alexandria University researcher Dr. Mervat Kassem. In addition to improving the efficacy of antibiotics, green tea also seemed to reduce the drug resistance of bacteria.
Some drug-resistant microorganisms even became susceptible to the very antibiotics they evolved to evade. Green tea rendered 20 percent of antibiotic-resistant bacteria susceptible to one of the cephalosporin antibiotics they usually resist.
Dr. Kassem intends to continue researching natural products that may help fight off drug resistant bacterial infections. The next superbug treatment could even be sitting in your pantry or spice rack. His future research will study active compounds in herbs such as thyme and marjoram.
The research on green tea will be presented on Monday, March 31, 2008 at the Society for General Microbiology’s 162nd meeting in Edinburgh in a session entitled Influence of green tea on the antimicrobial activity of some antibiotics against multiresistant clinical isolates.
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