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Green Tea
and MRSA
Staphylococcus
aureus is a
contagious kind of bacteria that can cause serious infection.
Methicillin is the drug that’s usually used to knock out this type of
infection but sometimes it doesn’t work. When that happens, the person
is said to have a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
infection.
Because MRSA is already a strongly resistant strain, most
physicians are reluctant to treat it with even more powerful antibiotics because
that may make the bacteria even more resistant, creating “super bugs.” Clearly,
a different approach is needed.
Knowing that green tea catechins possess strong antibacterial
activity, researchers in Japan decided to test the catechins’ ability to wage
war against this formidable bacteria. They recruited 72 disabled patients,
average age 78, who showed the presence of MRSA in their sputum and divided them
into two groups. One group used a nebulizer to inhale 2 ml of tea catechin
extract mixed with a saltwater solution, while the control group inhaled the
saltwater solution alone. Treatments were given three times a day for seven
days.
At the study’s end, about half of those inhaling the catechin
solution showed a decrease in levels of MRSA, compared to just 15% of those who
didn’t receive the catechins. And the decrease of MRSA in the catechin group was
almost three times greater than it was in the control group (31% as opposed to
12%).
More study is needed, but
it’s exciting to think that green tea may be able to help control a type of
bacteria that some of our strongest antibiotics can’t handle – and do so without
the dangerous side effects!
(Yamada H, Tateishi M, Harada K, et al. A randomized clinical study of tea
catechin inhalation effects on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in
disabled elderly patients. J Am Med Dir Assoc 2006;7(2):79-83.)
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Nadine Taylor, M.S., R.D. presents
GreenTeaLibrary.com, the most
comprehensive collection of scientific information describing the
health benefits of green tea.
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