Green Tea Shows Potential in HIV Adjunctive Therapies

A UK and US joint study suggests that drinking green tea may help to prevent HIV infection.

The preliminary study, published in the December 2006 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, was a joint project between the University of Sheffield (UK) and Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, TX, USA). The research team performed test tube studies on a green tea flavonoid called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and demonstrated that it binds with CD4 immune system T-cell receptors and stops HIV from doing the same.

One of the researchers, Prof. Mike Williamson, from the department of molecular biology and biotechnology at the University of Sheffield said, "Our research shows that drinking green tea could reduce the risk of becoming infected by HIV, and could also slow down the spread of HIV.”

Before conclusions results in that this study suggests green tea could deny HIV a toehold in the immune system, critics are cautious and say it is a very preliminary study. Compounds that show good results at the "micro” level of cells in the lab do not necessarily have the same effect at the "macro” level of immune systems in living oganisms.

Prof. Williamson also pointed out that green tea is not a cure, and neither is it a safe way to avoid infection. The study simply suggests that EGCG "has potential use as adjunctive therapy in HIV-1 infection.” In other words, Prof. Williamson said, "it should be used in combination with conventional medicines to improve quality of life for those infected.”

Prof. Williamson also mentioned that additional research to determine how much effect different amounts of green tea might have is already ongoing. In September 2006, a study from Japan was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that reported high consumption of green tea was associated with a reduced overall risk of death due to all causes and cardiovascular disease. Previous studies have also found positive links between green tea consumption and cancer.


Related Links:
University of Sheffield
Baylor College of Medicine