One study says green tea boost antibiotic effects. Another says the opposite. Oh yes, there is a Glutathione connection too.
This is an example of a little knowledge being dangerous.
In March of 2009 a study was released: Green Tea Boosts Antibiotics for Superbugs
The Egyptian study looked at how green tea increased effectiveness of antibiotics threefold.
Specifically mentioned in the study were cephalosporin antibiotic properties of the green tea.
Also, the tea extract showed showed a synergistic activity with chloramphenicol and other antibiotics like gentamycin, methicillin.
Just reading this you might start to think, oh, if I drink green tea it will help my antibiotics work better. NOT necessarily so.
Consider another study… Green tea extract weakens the antibacterial effect of amoxicillin in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infected mice.
The conclusion of the study was that tea extract weakened the antibacterial effect of amoxicillin in MRSA infected mice. This means that tea drinking is not recommended in combination with amoxicillin treatment, at least for your pet lab mice.
As far as we humans are concerned, this will still require some more study.
Green tea, incidentally, boosts your glutathione.
Before you go crazy, just ask your pharmacist to look up the current known interactions with which ever antibiotic you may be on.
Good health to you.
Tags: amoxicillin in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aur, cephalosporin, chloramphenicol, gentamycin, Glutathione, green tea boost antibiotic effects, Green Tea Boosts Antibiotics for Superbugs, methicillin