Groene thee kan helpen tegen HIV.*
Het
drinken van groene thee kan preventief werken tegen een HIV-besmetting, althans
dat blijkt uit een Amerikaans-Engelse laboratoriumstudie. De bioactieve
catechine, EGCG beschermt het immuunsysteem tegen het HIV-virus door zich te
binden aan immuun-T-cellen waardoor cellen van het HIV virus dit niet meer
kunnen. De wetenschappers wijzen er wel op dat hun onderzoek zich nog in een
primitief stadium bevindt. "Ons onderzoek toont aan dat het drinken van
groene thee het risico op een HIV-besmetting verkleint en de werking van het
virus afremt. Groene thee is geen geneesmiddel tegen HIV, noch een afdoende
preventiemiddel tegen besmetting maar het kan helpen. In combinatie met de
cocktail tegen HIV kan het de levenskwaliteit van besmette patiënten wel
verbeteren", aldus de onderzoeker professor Mike Williamson.
Green Tea May Prevent HIV
Infection
A
US and UK joint study suggests that drinking green tea may help to prevent HIV
infection.
The preliminary study is published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical
Immunology and was a joint project between the University of Sheffield, UK,
and Baylor College of Medicine, in Texas, USA.
The research team did test tube experiments on a green tea flavonoid called
epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and showed that it binds with CD4 immune system
T-cell receptors and stops HIV from doing the same.
One of the researchers, Professor Mike Williamson of 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 people jump to conclusions that this study suggests green tea could deny
HIV a foothold in the immune system, critics are cautious and say it is very
early days.
Compounds that show good results at the "micro" level of cells in a
test tube do not necessarily have the same effect at the "macro" level
of immune systems in living organisms.
Prof Williamson was keen to point out that green tea is not a cure, and neither
is it a safe way to avoid infection. The study merely 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".
He also mentioned that further studies to find out how much effect different
amounts of green tea might have are already under way.
The study was sponsored by the US National Institutes of Health, and a range of
research, education and other funds.
Last September, a study from Japan was published in the Journal of the
American Medical Association (JAMA) that reported high consumption of green
tea was linked to reduced overall risk of death due to all causes and
cardiovascular disease.
Other studies have also found positive links between green tea consumption and
cancer.
"Epigallocatechin gallate, the main polyphenol in green tea, binds to
the T-cell receptor, CD4: Potential for HIV-1 therapy."
Williamson MP, McCormick TG, Nance CL, Shearer WT. The Journal of Allergy and
Clinical Immunology, (Vol. 118, Issue 6, Pages 1369-1374). (April 2007)
(Opm. Meer over groene
thee.)