New research carried out at Alexandria University in Egypt has found that green tea can help antibiotics be up to three times more effective at fighting drug-resistant bacteria, including superbugs.

In a country like Egypt where green tea is commonly consumed by a large portion of the population, including those taking antibiotics, the researchers wanted to find out whether green tea would have any effect on the antibiotics and whether this effect would be positive or negative.

Mervat Kaseem, of Alexandria University’s pharmacy faculty, said, ‘We tested green tea in combination with antibiotics against 28 disease-causing microorganisms belonging to two different classes. In every single case, green tea enhanced the bacteria-killing activity of the antibiotics. For example, the killing effect of chloramphenicol was 99.99 percent better when taken with green tea than when taken on its own in some circumstances’. Click to continue »

A new US study suggests that in addition to its antioxidant properties, green tea may also be beneficial for the skin.

Researchers at the Medical College of Georgia found that green tea slowed the growth of skin cells in mice which were genetically predisposed to psoriasis. The findings, published in Experimental Dermatology prompted researchers to theorise that the beverage could be used in the treatment of psoriasis and other inflammatory skin conditions, such as lupus-related skin lesions and dandruff.

Click to continue »