Green tea plant compound may help fight TB: Study

Tuberculosis or TB is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium Tuberculosis) that affects the lungs. The infection can spread to other parts of your body like the brain or spine. TB is an infectious disease which spreads when an infected person coughs, sneezes or spit. TB is curable and preventable. We can cure most cases of TB with antibiotics but you need to take the medication for 6 to 9 months. Without treatment two-thirds of infected patients will die. An antioxidant found in green has shown a lot of promise in tackling the dreaded disease. A team of scientists from the Nanyang Technology University in Singapore has spearheaded the research.

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Laboratory experiments led by Professor Gerhard Grüber discovered a compound called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which can slow down the growth of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis bacteria.

The EGCG does this by binding to the enzyme responsible for biological energy for cellular activity. These results in a dip in energy the bacteria have for growth and stability. It published the finding in the Scientific Reports. There is hope the findings can help create drugs to combat tuberculosis.

Southeast Asia accounts for 41% of the world’s tuberculosis cases. According to the World Health Organization, India has the largest number of TB cases in the world. There were over 2.7 million cases of TB in 2018. While there are many drugs already available in the market to combat the disease, we need new ones because the bacteria are showing resistance to many drugs.

According to Professor Gerhard Grüber from the NTU School of Biological Sciences said: "Though tuberculosis is curable, the success of current drugs on the market is increasingly being overshadowed by the bacteria’s clinical resistance. Our discovery of the EGCG’s ability to inhibit the growth of M. tuberculosis will allow us to look at how we can improve the potency of this compound in green tea, and other similar compounds, to develop new drugs to tackle this airborne disease."

How does EGCG work?

Cells need energy for processes such as cell wall formation they get their energy from an energy storage molecule containing an enzyme called ATP synthase. Without energy for crucial cellular activity, the cell becomes unstable and dies.

To determine the features affection production of ATP synthase, the NTU research team studied both Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium Bovis, both of which were from M.Tuberculosis family. They have similar structural composition.

The team found that if genetic code for ATP synthase was altered it resulted in few energy storage molecules in bacterial cells, retarded cell growth and a changed colony shape.

Armed with this data, the scientists tested over 20 compounds to find something to bing to ATP synthase and cause the same blocking effect and tested their efficiency. Only EGCG, an antioxidant found in green tea showed positive results.

The team led by Professor Gerhard Grüber is developing the activity of EGCG for increased effectiveness and strength to fight the M. Tuberculosis bacteria. They hope to develop a drug cocktail that will effectively fight multi-drug resistant tuberculosis.

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Clinical science utilizes chemical procedures to quantify levels of compound segments in body fluids and tissues. The most widely recognized examples utilized in clinical science are blood and urine.