A team of researchers at Cardiff University has found that C.Diff- clostridium difficile, a bacteria that causes severe diarrhea and gut-based diseases is vulnerable to chemicals found in tea, 'The Sun' reported.
The team exposed 79 strains of the bacteria to 33 types of tea to see which proved best. It found that chemicals called polyphenols which give tea its flavour, help fight off the bacteria.
"We had done some preliminary work on standard breakfast tea and found that it kills bacteria," Professor Les Baillie, who has been studying the disease-fighting properties of tea since 2008, said.
"It evolved that clostridium difficile is also vulnerable to tea as it is a gut-based disease," he said.
Green tea appeared to have a stronger impact than black tea, he added.
Now researchers aim to develop an antibacterial 'supertea'. It would be given to patients to stave off C.Diff, which is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics.
"Tea is one of the most widely consumed drinks in the world