Meditea has the potential to help Covid-19 patients increase their immunity levels

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Illustration by Republika

UNAIR NEWS – The main priority in the Covid-19 pandemic is how we maintain and improve our body health. In this regard, UNAIR Faculty of Pharmacy held a community service activity on Saturday, August 28, 2021, in the form of a webinar entitled “Utilization of Natural Chemicals for Health Care to Face the Covid-19 Pandemic.”

In the webinar, Prof. Dr. Apt. Djoko Agus Purwanto, M.Si., explained about tea that can support curing Covid-19.

“Many studies on tea, both recent and previous ones, have been published in scientific journals. Based on recent journals, tea is believed to be able to increase innate immunity in Covid-19 sufferers,” said Prof. Djoko.

Tea has the potential to help cure Covid-19 because it contains Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate (EGCG). However, not all types of tea contain EGCG. Various types of tea known to the public, such as white tea, green tea, oolong tea, and black tea, have EGCG under different conditions.

Black tea is fermented tea and is widely consumed by the public. As a result of this fermentation, the EGCG in black tea is damaged. Thus, it has low EGCG.

According to Prof. Djoko, unfermented green tea contains the highest EGCG. EGCG from green tea has antioxidant properties of 100x vitamin C and 25x vitamin E.

EGCG’s powerful antioxidant properties have many benefits, including anti-cancer, anti-hypertension, anti-diabetic, anti-HIV and antiviral, anti-atherosclerosis, anti-cholesterol, and neuroprotective properties.

“Many people say ‘don’t drink tea because it can damage the kidneys.’ That is a wrong opinion. There is no single study that says tea can damage the kidneys. Tea is actually good for the kidneys. The main composition of tea, EGCG, can treat kidney damage,” explained Prof. Djoko.

EGCG can prevent the entry of viruses into cells. Moreover, EGCG can also maintain the immune system and prevent inflammation. Prof. Djoko said in one of the studies that EGCG is a potential therapeutic agent for Covid-19 sufferers, either symptomatic or not.

The potential therapeutic agent is the ability of EGCG in curing or treating a disease, in this case, Covid-19. It is possible because of its ability to suppress IL-6 expression.

Suppression of IL-6 expression will prevent the occurrence of cytokine storms. Cytokines are part of the immune system which fights against viruses. The increase in cytokines will cause chaos in the organs and cause the lungs in Covid-19 sufferers to turn white.

In addition to EGCG, tea is composed of other compounds such as caffeine. The caffeine in tea is high enough to increase stomach acid. Therefore, Prof. Djoko, together with the Faculty of Pharmacy UNAIR, produced a green tea product called Meditea.

Meditea is an extracted green tea drink that contains only EGCG, so it is safe for the stomach. Meditea can be found on online shopping platforms such as Shopee, Tokopedia, and Lazada.

Author: Rayya Afifah Ikhsani

Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia (YA/AP)

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