The antimicrobial possibilities of green tea

Abstract

Green tea is a popular drink, especially in Asian countries, although its popularity continues to spread across the globe. The health benefits of green tea, derived from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, have been studied for many years. Fairly recently, researchers have begun to look at the possibility of using green tea in antimicrobial therapy, and the potential prevention of infections. The particular properties of catechins found in the tea have shown promise for having antimicrobial effects. There are four main catechins (polyphenols) found in green tea: (-)-epicatechin (EC), (-)-epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG), (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC), and (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). Three of these, ECG, EGC, and EGCG have been shown to have antimicrobial effects against a variety of organisms. These catechins have exhibited a variety of antimicrobial mechanisms. The results of studies on the antimicrobial effects of green tea have shown that the potential for preventive and therapeutic purposes is present. Further data collection on studies performed with human consumption during the course of infections, and studies on the occurrence of infections in populations that consume regular amounts of green tea will be necessary to complete the picture of its antimicrobial possibilities.

An Update on the Health Benefits of Green Tea

“…Organisms affected by green tea include a large number of Gram-positive and Gram-negative aerobic bacteria, anaerobic bacteria, viruses, fungi, and at least one parasite (see Table 3). Among the antimicrobial mechanisms that have been attributed to green tea are: damage to the bacterial cell membrane, inhibition of bacterial fatty acid synthesis, inhibition of other enzymes (e.g., protein tyrosine kinase, cysteine proteinases, DNA gyrase, ATP synthase), and inhibition of efflux pump activity [25].…”

“…Certain studies have been conducted using various concentrations of catechins, and generally show that the bioavailability of these substances is in proportion to the amount ingested [18,19,[22][23][24]. It has been suggested that levels of EC and ECG detected are too low to be of any therapeutic value, so most research considers only EGC and EGCG [25]. Table 1 shows a summary of the results of some of these studies.…”

Juodosios Arbatos Kokybinis Vertinimas Pagal Fenolinių Junginių Kiekį, Antiradikalinį Ir Antimikrobinį Aktyvumą

“…Taip blokuojamas mikroorganizmų gebėjimas sintetinti folio rūgštis, kurios svarbios organizmo augimui bei vystymuisi. Atlikti moksliniai tyrimai rodo, kad bioflavonoidai (daugiausia šių polifenolinių junginių randama juodoje arbatoje) gali slopinti bakterijų ATP sintezės aktyvumą, taip mažinant mikroorganizmų gebėjimą gaminti pakankamą energijos kiekį [15] . Tačiau atliktuose tyrimuose nėra vertinamas ekstrakcijos laikas, kuris gali būti vienas iš pagrindinių parametrų, nuo kurių priklauso fenolinių junginių aktyvumas, todėl šioje tyrimų dalyje analizuojama, ar ekstrakcijos laikas turi įtakos arbatos antimikrobiniam aktyvumui (2 lentelė).…”

The effective and selective separation of (−)-epigallocatechin gallate by molecularly imprinted chitosan beads

“…Recently, green tea has become one of the popular drinks in the world due to its excellent therapeutic and protective effects on human health (Bansal et al 2013;Reygaert 2014). Research indicates that green tea can reduce the risk of cancer, neurodegenerative, and cardiovascular diseases (Dube et al 2010).…”