Green tea heals

Although the
antibacterial properties of green tea
have been known
for a long time, an
entirely new
property of the herb
has just been
reported by a group
of British
researchers. I M T
Hamilton-Miller
and his colleagues
from Royal Free
Hospital School of
Medicine,
London, report that
extracts of
green tea (an
aqueous extract of
Camellia sinensis)
may m ake strains
of drug-resistant
bacteria more
sensitive to penicillin.

In the new study,
Hamilton-Miller's group added
green tea
extracts to
different strains of
antibiotic-resistant
Staphylococcus
aureus (S aureus)
bacteria growing
on laboratory dishes
containing
benzylpenicillin. S
aureus usually
causes skin
infections and abscesses.

The researchers
found that after
treatment with the
tea extract, many
of these strains
showed reversal
of penicillin
resistance, instead
showing increased
sensitivity to the
antibiotic. The
investigators also
found that diluted
tea extract acted
with antibioti",
making them more
potent against
particular strains of
S aureus. The
researchers believe
that the two
activities may be due
the action of a
single compound
which is being identified.