Healthful Green Tea Boosts Strength, Efficacy of Antibiotics

Next time you take an antibiotic, swallow it down with some green tea. Not only will the antioxidant-rich brew be soothing, it may actually help the drugs do their job better. Egyptian researchers have discovered that green tea can boost the effectiveness of antibiotics and may even help to beat superbugs such as MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) that have evolved to resist antibiotics.

In a series of in-vitro laboratory experiments, researchers at Alexandria University pitted green tea plus antibiotics against 28 disease-causing microorganisms. In almost every case and for all types of antibiotics tested, the combination reduced the bacteria’s drug resistance and increased the action of the antibiotics. In some cases, the drugs in combination with green tea were up to three times more powerful in their fight against the harmful bacteria. “The synergistic action of green tea when taken with antibiotics was demonstrated against Staphylococcus, E. coli and P. aeruginosa,” said Mervat A. Kassem, PhD, of the faculty of pharmacy at Alexandria University in Egypt. The study was presented in March at the meeting of the Society for General Microbiology in Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

MRSA-FIGHTING MAGIC

Of special interest in our fight against the public health scourge of drug-resistant bacteria, researchers found that green tea combined with antibiotics made one in five drug-resistant bacteria susceptible to one of the cephalosporin antibiotics (a class of antibiotics that some strains of bacteria have mutated to resist).  And, interestingly, “green tea alone demonstrated some antibacterial activity against MRSA,” said Dr. Kassem.

As noted above, the study was done in the lab and has not yet been replicated with humans. Dr. Kassem noted, however, that the study dose is close to what would be consumed in a cup of tea. Though researchers haven’t yet pinned down the mechanism by which green tea enhances antibiotic power, she speculates that it “disturbs the bacteria’s permeability, enhancing the entrance of the antibiotics into the bacterial cells.”

Further research will explore that question, along with what is the most effective dosage and what type of green tea is best for bacteria-fighting properties. We’ll keep you up to date on these findings but in the meantime, this is definitely advice to file under “can’t hurt, might help.” If green tea isn’t already in your kitchen cabinet, this is a good reason to get some.