07/11/2018 / By Michelle Simmons
New research has found that nanoparticles produced from tea leaves (Camellia sinensis) can stop the growth of up to 80 percent of lung cancer cells. The study, published in the journal Applied Nano Materials, looked at the antibacterial activity of the cadmium sulfate quantum dots (CdS QDs) and compared it with various types of bacteria growth. In addition, they evaluated the cytotoxicity of CdS QDs toward lung cancer cells when compared to a control group and how it compared to the drug called cisplatin.
In the study, researchers from Swansea University in the U.K., K.S. Rangasamy Institute of Technology, and Bharathiar University in India combined tea leaf extract with cadmium sulfate (CdSO4) and sodium sulfide (Na2S). The combination formed nanoparticles that penetrated the nanopores of cancer cells. The research group carried out fluorescence emission and flow cytometry analyses in order to further understand the function of CdS Qds in bioimaging and cytotoxicity effect in lung cancer cells.
Based on the results, the nanoparticles of the tea mixture effectively prevented the growth of bacteria and exhibited cytotoxicity toward lung cancer cells when compared to a control. Results from a flow cytometry analysis established that the CdS QDs was preventing the growth of the lung cancer cells.
“The cadmium sulfide quantum dots (CdS QDs) derived from tea leaf extract showed exceptional fluorescence emission in cancer cell bioimaging compared to conventional CdS nanoparticles,” explained Sudhagar Pitchaimuthu, lead researcher of the study.
Tea leaf extract and its polyphenols, amino acids, caffeine, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants act as a non-toxic particle stabilizing agent and as an antibacterial, hemolytic, and anticancer agent. According to the researchers, this type of nanoparticle has a high potential as a cancer treatment.
The plant called Camellia sinensis is where all types of teas come from. The variety comes from various growing conditions and ways of processing, and the level of oxidation is what makes every tea type different. (Related: Tea found to prevent fat storage in the liver, lower blood glucose.) Here are the different types of teas:
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Tagged Under: anticancer, Camellia sinensis, cancer, cancer treatments, food is medicine, lung cancer, lung cancer cells, nanoparticles, natural cancer treatments, natural remedies, tea