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Health News Archive 32 - Stomach and Ulcer
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• Green Tea Extract Suppresses H. Pylori Bacteria

Green Tea Extract Suppresses H. Pylori Bacteria

An October 2003 study indicates that green tea extract suppresses an enzyme necessary for colonization of H. pylori, a bacterium implicated in ulcers, gastritis and stomach cancer.

An enzyme known as Helicobacter pylori urease is essential for colonization of H. pylori bacteria. Thus researchers focused attention on foods that inhibit the activity of this enzyme. Among the plant-derived 77 foods tested, some tea and rosemary extracts were found to clearly inhibit H. pylori urease in vitro. Green tea extract showed the strongest inhibition of H. pylori urease. Researchers identified the catechins found in green tea to be one of the components responsible for the antibacterial action.

In addition to conducting the in vitro study, researchers also inoculated Mongolian gerbils with H. pylori. The study authors then gave the animals green tea extract in drinking water for 6 weeks. In the treated animals, gastritis and the prevalence of H. pylori were suppressed in a dose-dependent manner, meaning the higher the dose, the greater the suppression.

The researchers concluded, "Since the acquisition by H. pylori of resistance to antibiotics has become a serious problem, tea and tea catechins may be very safe resources to control H. pylori-associated gastroduodenal diseases."

Reference: Matsubara S, Shibata H, Ishikawa F, Yokokura T, Takahashi M, Sugimura T, Wakabayashi K. Suppression of Helicobacter pylori-induced gastritis by green tea extract in Mongolian gerbils. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2003 Oct 24;310(3):715-9.

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