Studies on the Antibiotic Activity of Tea

\(In\) \(vitro\) studies on the effect of infusions of green and black tea, their tannins, and individual catechins isolated from green tea leaves on the growth of \(Staphylococcus\) \(aureue\), \(Salmonella\) \(typhoea\), \(Shigella\) \(dysente­rise\) and \(El\) \(Tor\) \(vibrio\) (an allied strain of \(Vibrio\) \(cholerae\)) have been made. Tannins of Indian tea have been found to possess considerable antibacterial activity towards micro-organisms intestinal disorder. Green tea tannins have been found to be more active than black tea tannins. Amongst all the individual catechins studied, (—)-epigallocatechin and (—)-epigallocatechin gallate have been found to possess remarkably stronger antibactorial action on the pathogenic organisms tested