WASHINGTON (AFP) A chemical found in green tea helps inhibit sexual transmission of the virus which causes AIDS, said a study Tuesday that recommends using the compound in vaginal creams to supplement antiretrovirals.
Medical experts at Germany's University of Heidelberg said the compound could be a low-cost arrow in the quiver of medical weapons to fight the spread of HIV in research-poor countries.
The researchers said they determined that the green tea polyphenol, or vegetable tannin, called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is capable of neutralizing a protein in sperm which serves as a vector for viral transmission during sex.
EGCG degrades what is known as a semen-derived enhancer of virus infection, or SEVI, described in the study as "an important infectivity factor of HIV."
I NEVER fail, i'm just SUCCESSFUL in finding out what doesn't work Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.