Anthrax May Be Neutralized by Drinking Black Tea

A new study by an international team of researchers has revealed how drinking black tea could prove an antidote to Bacillus anthracis--more typically know as anthrax.

The benefits of tea has long been know, but now a team of scientists from Cardiff University (Cardiff, Wales, UK) and University of Maryland (College Park, MD, USA), led by Professor Les Baillie from Welsh School of Pharmacy at Cardiff University and D. Theresa Gallagher, Biodefense Institute, part of the Medical Biotechnology Center of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute (Baltimore, MD, USA) has found that the widely-available English Breakfast tea has the potential to suppress the activity of anthrax, as long as it is black tea.

Anthrax--a potentially fatal human disease--is caused by the bacterium B. anthracis. A very serious and rapidly progressing form of the disease occurs when bacterial spores are inhaled making anthrax a potent threat when used as a biologic warfare agent.

Published in the March 2008 issue of the Society for Applied Microbiology's journal Microbiologist, Prof. Baillie reported, "Our research sought to determine if English Breakfast tea was more effective than a commercially available American medium roast coffee at killing anthrax. We found that special components in tea such as polyphenols have the ability to inhibit the activity of anthrax quite considerably.”

The study provides further evidence of the wide range of beneficial physiologic and pharmalogic effects of this common beverage. The research also demonstrated that the addition of whole milk to a standard cup of tea completely inhibited its antibacterial activity against anthrax.

Prof. Baillie continued, "I would suggest that in the event that we are faced with a potential bioterror attack, individuals may want to forgo their dash of milk at least until the situation is under control. What's more, given the ability of tea to bring solace and steady the mind, and to inactivate Bacillus anthracis and its toxin, perhaps the Boston Tea Party was not such a good idea after all.”


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Cardiff University
University of Maryland