Tea lovers are gradually switching to green tea, which is a healthier option over caffeine-laden regular tea. Green tea is full of antioxidants and flavonoids that help in boosting the immunity and metabolism rate of the body. Drinking green tea is supposedly helpful in keeping diseases like heart ailments at bay and is also beneficial in losing weight. There’s another glaring advantage of drinking green tea that has surfaced recently. According to a research conducted by the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Surrey, green tea can also help in building the body’s responsiveness to antibiotic medicines consumed to treat infections. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a bacterial pathogen that causes serious respiratory tract and bloodstream infections and has become resistant to antibiotics over time.
The researchers claimed to have found a natural antioxidant – epigallocatechin (EGCG) – in green tea that can fight and kill the antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The antioxidant has the ability to restore the activity of aztreonam, an antibiotic commonly used to treat infections caused by P. aeruginosa. The findings were published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology. Lead author Dr Jonathan Betts, Senior Research Fellow in the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Surrey said, “Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious threat to global public health. Without effective antibiotics, the success of medical treatments will be compromised. Natural products such as EGCG, used in combination with currently licenced antibiotics, maybe a way of improving their effectiveness and clinically useful lifespan.”The researchers carried out some vitro tests to assess the synergy of EGCG and aztreonam and how they reacted to the bacterial pathogen separately and in combination. They discovered that the pairing of aztreonam and EGCG was more effective at fighting P. aeruginosa than tackling it individually Professor Roberto La Ragione, Head of the Department of Pathology and Infectious Diseases in the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Surrey concluded, “The World Health Organisation has listed antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a critical threat to human health. We have shown that we can successfully eliminate such threats with the use of natural products, in combination with antibiotics already in use. “Green tea is the healthiest beverage on the planet.It is loaded with antioxidants and nutrients that have powerful effects on the body.These include improved brain function, fat loss, a lower risk of cancer and many other impressive benefits.Green tea is more than just liquid.Many of the plant compounds in the tea leaves do make it into the final drink, which contains large amounts of important nutrients (1Trusted Source).Tea is rich in polyphenols that have effects like reducing inflammation and helping to fight cancer. Green tea is about 30 percent polyphenols by weight, including large amounts of a catechin called EGCG. Catechins are natural antioxidants that help prevent cell damage and provide other benefits. These substances can reduce the formation of free radicals in the body, protecting cells and molecules from damage. These free radicals are known to play a role in aging and all sorts of diseases. Green tea does more than just keep you awake, it can also make you smarter.The key active ingredient is caffeine, which is a known stimulant.It doesn’t contain as much as coffee, but enough to produce a response without causing the “jittery” effects associated with too much caffeine.If you look at the ingredients list for any fat burning supplement, chances are that green tea will be on there.This is because green tea has been shown to increase fat burning and boost the metabolic rate, in human controlled trials (12Trusted Source). In one study in 10 healthy men, green tea increased energy expenditure by 4% (13Trusted Source).
