A subset of immune cells recognizes molecules found in tea and the secretions of bacteria, so scientists have begun to examine whether tea drinking bolsters immunity.

Bukowski, J.F., C.T. Morita, and M.B. Brenner. 1999. Human g d T cells recognize alkylamines derived from microbes, edible plants, and tea: Implications for innate immunity. Immunity 11(July):57.

Jack F. Bukowski
Harvard Medical School
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Department of Medicine
Boston, MA 02115

From Science News, Vol. 156, No. 8, August 21, 1999, p. 127. Copyright © 1999, Science Service.