Tea and Coffee Consumption and MRSA Nasal Carriage

Eric M. Matheson; Arch G. Mainous; Charles J. Everett; Dana E. King

doi:10.1370/afm.1262

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Tea and Coffee as alternative antimicrobials
Fawzi M. Mahomoodally

Published on: 02 November 2011
Caffeine content.
Edoardo Cervoni

Published on: 08 August 2011
Impact of our feed in microorganisms
Ana Amelia Paolucci ALMEIDA

Published on: 22 July 2011
To the Editor: Topical effects of tea components on MRSA in sputum
Hiroshi Yamada

Published on: 19 July 2011

Published on: (2 November 2011)
Page navigation anchor for Tea and Coffee as alternative antimicrobials
Tea and Coffee as alternative antimicrobials
Fawzi M. Mahomoodally, Lecturer
First and above all, acknowledgment goes to the editor for this invitation to contribute to the recently published article as an author of its cited reference. Interestingly, findings from Matheson et al, is of great significance as apart from being a traditional drink in many parts of the world, tea and coffee are well documented scientifically to have prophylactic and are famous health-promoting beverages since time im...
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First and above all, acknowledgment goes to the editor for this invitation to contribute to the recently published article as an author of its cited reference. Interestingly, findings from Matheson et al, is of great significance as apart from being a traditional drink in many parts of the world, tea and coffee are well documented scientifically to have prophylactic and are famous health-promoting beverages since time immemorial. Indeed, with the burden of microbial resistance and the ever escalating concerns of drug failures and adverse drug reactions, alternative antimicrobial from natural products have been in the limelight of clinicians and scientists during the last few years. However, I believed it would have also been interesting for Matheson et al, to record which species of tea has the highest antimicrobial potential, as the most common tea on the market is Camellia sinensis which is phytochemically different from other species such as Yerba mate tea (Ilex paraguariensis) - a widely consumed nonalcoholic tea in South America.1
Concerning the mechanism of inhibition, one plausible explanation might be due to a significant boost in immune response via an increase in γ-δ lymphocytes and in turn of γ-interferon recorded following intake of 4 -5 cups of black tea for 4 weeks in vivo.2 Additionally, the polyphenolic content from tea extract, particularly the (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate and (-)-epicatechin-3-gallate have been well documented to be effective bactericidal agents by disrupting the cytoplasmic membrane of various strains of Staphylococcus.3 As Matheson et al, also quoted, Catechins, particularly galloyl and gallic moieties have deteriorating effect on the lipid bilayer membrane that results in the loss of cell structure and function eventually leading to death of the bacteria.3
On the other hand, compounds isolated from coffee, such as caffeine and ferulic acid and a mixture of both showed significant antimicrobial activity, whereas trigonelline, 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural, chlorogenic acid, nicotinic acid, caffeic acid, and methylglyoxal were not active. Interestingly, it was also recently demonstrated that H2O2 (generated in the coffee brews by Maillard reaction products formed during coffee roasting from sugars and amino acids/peptides) was a necessary prerequisite for the antimicrobial effect of coffee.4
1. Heck CI, Demejia EG. Yerba Mate Tea (Ilex paraguariensis): A Comprehensive Review on Chemistry, Health Implications, and Technological Considerations. J Food Sci. 2007;72(9): R138-R151.
2. Kamath AB, Wang L, Das H, Li L, Reinhold VN, Bukowski JF. Antigens in tea-beverage prime human gamma delta T cells in vitro and in vivo for memory and non-memory antibacterial cytokine responses. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2003;100:6009-6014.
3. Perumalla AVS, Navam. S. Hettiarachchy. Green tea and grape seed extracts - Potential applications in food safety and quality. Food Res Internat. 2011;44:827-839.
4. Mueller U, Sauer T, Weigel I, Pichnerb R, Pischetsrieder M. Identification of H2O2 as a major antimicrobial component in coffee. Food Funct. 2011;2:265-272.
Competing interests: None declared
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Competing Interests: None declared.
Published on: (8 August 2011)
Page navigation anchor for Caffeine content.
Caffeine content.
Edoardo Cervoni, Southport
I am skeptical about the quality of the study, thus its results and conclusions. Tea and coffee are not the only drinks/foods with caffeine. Actually, the content of caffeine is very variable depending on the type of coffee, and the list of drinks and foods that may have been present in the diet and with a significant content of caffeine is a rather long one. Here a link to a list: http://www.energyfiend.com/the-caffeine-...
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I am skeptical about the quality of the study, thus its results and conclusions. Tea and coffee are not the only drinks/foods with caffeine. Actually, the content of caffeine is very variable depending on the type of coffee, and the list of drinks and foods that may have been present in the diet and with a significant content of caffeine is a rather long one. Here a link to a list: http://www.energyfiend.com/the-caffeine-database. I would be very cautious in accepting the conclusions of the study.
Competing interests: None declared
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Competing Interests: None declared.
Published on: (22 July 2011)
Page navigation anchor for Impact of our feed in microorganisms
Impact of our feed in microorganisms
Ana Amelia Paolucci ALMEIDA, Belo Horizonte, BRAZIL
First of all, I would like to thank the editor of the Annals of Family Medicine for the invitation to contribute to this important paper and for the opportunity to know about Matheson et al research. The excellent article of Matheson et al let us reflect about the impact of our feed in our microbiota. Some food, like tea and coffee, has antibacterial properties. I really appreciate their referencing our paper, “Antibact...
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First of all, I would like to thank the editor of the Annals of Family Medicine for the invitation to contribute to this important paper and for the opportunity to know about Matheson et al research. The excellent article of Matheson et al let us reflect about the impact of our feed in our microbiota. Some food, like tea and coffee, has antibacterial properties. I really appreciate their referencing our paper, “Antibacterial activity of coffee extracts and selected coffee chemical compounds against enterobacteria”. Our main findings and conclusions demonstrate that coffee extract and chemical compounds present in coffee like trigonelline, caffeine, and protocatechuic acid has showed antimicrobial activity for some enterobacteria investigated. Our results indicate that coffee and their components could be used in foods as a natural preservative. This article clearly provides a possibility of a potential use of a food, or like in our research a food compound, which is consumed orally, as a new alternative to antibiotics for eradicated a potential pathogenic microorganism that is habited the nasal carriage.
Competing interests: None declared
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Competing Interests: None declared.
Published on: (19 July 2011)
Page navigation anchor for To the Editor: Topical effects of tea components on MRSA in sputum
To the Editor: Topical effects of tea components on MRSA in sputum
Hiroshi Yamada, Shizuoka, Japan
Other Contributors:
We are very interested in the recently published article by Matheson et al.1 They showed using a cross-sectional study, an inverse association between hot tea or coffee consumption and the frequent nasal carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Although the underlying mechanism of this association has not been clarified, this epidemiological observation would be very promising if the experimental...
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We are very interested in the recently published article by Matheson et al.1 They showed using a cross-sectional study, an inverse association between hot tea or coffee consumption and the frequent nasal carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Although the underlying mechanism of this association has not been clarified, this epidemiological observation would be very promising if the experimental results could be replicated in a clinical setting and the mechanisms involved could be clarified.
As mentioned in their article, catechins present in tea exhibit antibacterial activity against MRSA. With this background, we have investigated the effects of topical inhalation of tea catechins on MRSA.2,3 Twenty-four elderly patients whose sputum samples were positive for MRSA were divided into the catechin group (n = 12), who underwent treatment with inhalation of 2 mL of tea catechin extract in saline/bromhexine at room temperature (catechin concentration, 3.7 mg/mL) 3 times a day, and the control group (n = 12), who underwent treatment with inhalation of saline/bromhexine alone. After 7 days of the inhalation treatment, the number of patients showing a decrease in the titer of MRSA in their sputum was significantly higher in the catechin group than in the control group.2 In a randomized clinical study following this first study, 69 elderly patients showing colonization or infection with MRSA in their sputum were asked to inhale 2 mL of tea catechin extract in saline at room temperature, at the same concentration and for the same duration as in the previous study. The control group received inhalation treatment with saline alone. The decrease in MRSA titer was significantly higher in the catechin group than in the control group (47% vs. 15%, p = 0.014). 3
Thus, these results show that catechin inhalation was beneficial against MRSA infection; moreover, they indicate that a high temperature is not essential for reducing the titer of MRSA in the sputum with inhalation treatment. However, further clinical trials are required to clarify the effects of hot tea or coffee, if their use against MRSA infection is to be recommended.
References
1. Matheson EM, Mainous III AG, Everett CJ, King DE. Tea and Coffee Consumption and MRSA Nasal Carriage. Ann Fam Med. 2011;9(4):299-304.
2. Yamada H, Ohashi K, Atsumi T, et al.. Effects of tea catechin Inhalation on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in elderly patients in a hospital ward. J Hosp Infect 2003;53(3):229-231.
3. Yamada H, Tateishi M, Harada K, et al. A randomized clinical study of tea catechin inhalation effects on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in disabled elderly patients. J. Am Med Dir Assoc. 2006;7(2):79-83.
Competing interests: None declared
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Competing Interests: None declared.