Biomedical Sciences Department, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester, MI 48309, USA.
Biomed Res Int. 2018 Jul 17;2018:9105261. doi: 10.1155/2018/9105261. eCollection 2018.
Green tea is one of the most popular drinks consumed worldwide. Produced mainly in Asian countries from the leaves of the plant, the potential health benefits have been widely studied. Recently, researchers have studied the ability of green tea to eradicate infectious agents and the ability to actually prevent infections. The important components in green tea that show antimicrobial properties are the catechins. The four main catechins that occur in green tea are (-)-epicatechin (EC), (-)-epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG), (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC), and (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). Of these catechins, EGCG and EGC are found in the highest amounts in green tea and have been the subject of most of the studies. These catechins have been shown to demonstrate a variety of antimicrobial properties, both to organisms affected and in mechanisms used. Consumption of green tea has been shown to distribute these compounds and/or their metabolites throughout the body, which allows for not only the possibility of treatment of infections but also the prevention of infections.
绿茶是全球最受欢迎的饮品之一。这种饮品主要在亚洲国家用茶树的叶子制成，其潜在的健康益处已经得到了广泛的研究。最近，研究人员研究了绿茶消除感染性病原体的能力以及实际预防感染的能力。绿茶中具有抗菌特性的重要成分是儿茶素。绿茶中存在的四种主要儿茶素为（-）-表没食子儿茶素（EC）、（-）-表没食子儿茶素-3-没食子酸酯（ECG）、（-）-表儿茶素（EGC）和（-）-表没食子儿茶素-3-没食子酸酯（EGCG）。在这些儿茶素中，EGCG 和 EGC 在绿茶中的含量最高，也是大多数研究的主题。这些儿茶素已被证明具有多种抗菌特性，无论是对受影响的生物还是所使用的机制。绿茶的消费已被证明会将这些化合物及其代谢物分布到全身，这不仅为治疗感染提供了可能性，也为预防感染提供了可能。
