DHAKA: Your daily cup of tea has chemicals that can destroy a deadly hospital superbug which causes severe diarrhea and other intestinal diseases, killing 3,000 people a year, a new research has claimed.
A team of researchers at Cardiff University has found that C.diff- clostridium difficile, a bacteria that causes severe diarrhea and gut-based diseases is vulnerable to chemicals found in tea.
The team exposed 79 strains of the bacteria to 33 types of tea to see which proved best. It found that chemicals called polyphenols which give tea its flavour, help fight off the bacteria.
"We had done some preliminary work on standard breakfast tea and found that it kills bacteria," Professor Les Baillie, who has been studying the disease-fighting properties of tea since 2008, said.
"It evolved that clostridium difficile is also vulnerable to tea as it is a gut-based disease," he said. Green tea appeared to have a stronger impact than black tea, he added.
Now researchers aim to develop an antibacterial `supertea`. It would be given to patients to stave off C.diff, which is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics. "Tea is one of the most widely consumed drinks in the world — and in the UK we drink more cups per head than in any other nation. This summer we will try to produce an antibacterial supertea," Researcher Will McCully said.
"The ultimate aim is to produce a drink that will be clinically effective against C.diff," he added.
BDST: 1123 HRS, JULY 17, 2012
Edited By: Quamrun Nahar Shumi, Newsroom Editor
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