Green Tea Aids Antibiotics in Defeating Superbug Infections by Staph News
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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