Tea May Offer Treatment to Fight HIV
 (Washington, Reuters Health, 11/10/03)

Kuzushige Kawai and colleagues at the University of Tokyo in Japan, report that epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a compound found in green tea, may stop the spread of AIDS within the body. In the lab, EGCG protected CD4 T-cells by rapidly bonding to CD4 receptors and thereby blocking the AIDS virus from attaching. Researchers will have to explore what attracts the EGCG to the CD4 receptors, whether this phenomenon occurs in the human body as well as in lab dishes and whether the substance can be safely concentrated into high enough doses to effectively stop HIV infection.