Drinking green tea, black tea, or matcha latte may help inactivating the Omicron subvariants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Scientists from Japan found that chemicals in these teas bind to the spike protein of the virus, preventing it from infecting cells. The study also showed that sweet treats made with green tea or black tea could potentially decrease the virus load in the oral cavity and gastrointestinal tract. These findings potential health advantage of consuming these teas.Read Less
Green tea, brewed using tea leaves, is rich in a number of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Matcha is the ground-down version of green tea leaves, resulting in a fine powder. It contains a stronger concentration of important antioxidants and nutrients. If you choose to drink green tea for weight loss or are exploring matcha latte for the food trends, here is another great health advantage to drink these teas.
Drinking green tea, black tea or a matcha latte may help in the fight against Omicron sub variants as it can “effectively inactivate” the virus, according to a new study published in the Scientific Reports journal.
Scientists from the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine in Japan had previously explored the impact of these tea-based molecules – EGCG and TFDG – on earlier strains of COVID and established a connection.
Chemicals in these teas bind to the spike protein sticking out from the surface of the COVID virus and stop it from infecting cells.
How these tea work as COVID-fighting remedy
“To estimate whether Omicron sub variants of SARS-CoV-2 were inactivated by tea, the virus suspension was exposed to green tea or black tea that was freshly brewed by pouring hot or boiled water over tea leaves, or to Matcha green tea that was freshly prepared by whisking powdered Matcha tea in hot water,” the researchers explained the study process.
Laboratory experiments found that EGCG and TFDG both latch on to the virus in the same spot where the human ACE2 receptor connects. “This receptor is like a door that lets the virus enter human cells and cause illness. When the tea chemicals block this crucial interaction, the virus loses its ability to make people sick,” the study explained.
The researchers found that EGCG and TFDG strongly suppressed infectivity of BA.1 and XE subvariants, while effect on BA.2.75 was weaker.
Impact of sweets made of these teas
As part of this study, seven healthy volunteers consumed either a sweet made of different types of tea – matcha, black and green tea – or a placebo.
The scientists said, “We found that all the omicron sub variants we tested were efficiently inactivated by treatment with green tea, matcha green tea, and black tea for 10 seconds.”
“A candy containing green tea or black tea may be useful for inactivating the virus if infected persons consume it, to decrease virus load in the oral cavity and gastrointestinal tract of the infected person, as well as to prevent spread of the virus from the infected persons to nearby uninfected persons.”
