Green tea may help fight HIV
Updated on 29 March 2007
Green tea could provide a new weapon against the Aids virus, HIV, it has been revealed.
Scientists found that a compound in the beverage prevents the virus binding to immune system cells.
They believe drinking green tea might slow the spread of HIV and reduce the risk of infection.
Professor Mike Williamson, from the Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the University of Sheffield, who took part in the study, said: "It is not a cure, and nor is it a safe way to avoid infection, however, we suggest that it should be used in combination with conventional medicines to improve quality of life for those infected.
"Future research is also currently under way in order to determine how much effect can be expected from different amounts of tea."
The green tea compound is a flavonoid plant chemical called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). It effectively blocks the pathway HIV uses to invade immune system white blood cells called T-cells.
When the immune system collapses under attack from the HIV virus, the body becomes vulnerable to disease and full-blown Aids can result.
The researchers used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, an advanced molecular scanning technique, to view EGCG binding to the surface of T-cells donated by human patients.
Concentrations of the compound equivalent to those obtained from drinking green tea reduced the ability of HIV to latch onto T-cells by 10 to 20 times.
The findings are reported in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
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