Inhibitors of Bacterial Communication in Green Tea
Posted by Joemar | Filed under science
Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) – the primary component of Green Tea – was shown to have an ability to block the communication system of a bacterial test strain, Chromobacterium violaceum.
The ability of bacteria to sense their population density is a recently discovered phenomenon. Many studies have shown that this “quorum sensing” ability of bacteria enable them to coordinate their behavior. Individual bacterium does not produce the necessary weapons of host destruction until such time that their population is large enough to cause invasion. Blocking quorum sensing is now considered to be a viable target to control bacterial infections.
Tags: bacteria, egcg, green tea, quorum sensing