Can Tea Assist in Combating COVID-19?
- Mark McGuire
- Dec 20, 2020
- 2 min read
Summarized from Therapeutic Approach Against 2019-nCoV by Inhibition of ACE-2 Receptor, by
Gajendra Kumar, Dharmendra Kumar, Netra Pal Singh
2019-nCoV, also known as COVID-19 has caused lockdowns all over the world. In this paper Kumar et al. explore various possible ways to slow the spread using common foods that are also ancient remedies. These include turmeric, black pepper, and green tea.
Turmeric contains a chemical called curcumin that appears to inhibit the triple target receptors that arrest the launch of the virus. It does this by binding to these receptors, acting like a cap and keeping the virus from grabbing onto a host.
Black pepper's strong flavor comes from piperine, a chemical that has been used as a traditional medicine for respiratory issues, indigestion and fever. Piperine increases the bioavailability of other chemicals. The bioavailability of curcumin in particular increases almost ten-fold*. The traditional uses may or may not help with COVID symptoms, however it does assist the body in absorbing other chemicals that do.
Green tea has a host of chemicals that may help fight COVID-19. These include catechins, caffeine, theanine, various vitamins, saponins, fluoride, and others. Catechin has a dual binding effect- the authors note that it binds to the virus's RBD spike protein and the ACE-2 of the host cell. The authors do not imply that green tea can inhibit COVID-19 alone due to the low bioactivity of the chemicals. The bioavailability of these chemicals is, however, improved by piperine.
In the rest of the paper, the authors outline a recipe to hopefully assist in fighting COVID-19 using these traditional ingredients. They did not run these tests and so we do not know if their recommendations work, however these foods do assist in combating similar diseases.
Kumar, Gajendra, et al. “Therapeutic Approach against 2019-NCoV by Inhibition of ACE-2 Receptor.” Drug Research, Georg Thieme Verlag KG, 12 Nov. 2020, www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/a-1275-0228.
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