A reputable source for health-related information says that black tea may serve as an antidote to the biological threat of anthrax, a deadly disease that was largely eradicated over the course of the past century, only to re-emerge as a biological weapon in 2001.  

A recent article in Science Daily goes as far as to speculate that a cup of the beverage “could be the next line of defense in the threat of bio-terrorism,” an assertion seemingly backed by emerging international research.  

The recent study was conducted at Cardiff University (in Wales) in a joint venture with University of Maryland. At these institutions, scientists within the schools of pharmacy and medical biotechnology performed trials which found that the “widely-available English Breakfast tea has the potential to inhibit the activity of anthrax, as long as it is black tea.” 

In the March issue of scientific journal Microbiologist, one of the study’s leaders, Professor Baillie, noted, “We found that special components in tea such as polyphenols have the ability to inhibit the activity of anthrax quite considerably.” But Science Daily went on to caution that there is a caveat. “The research also shows that the addition of whole milk to a standard cup of tea completely inhibited its antibacterial activity against anthrax.”

To review additional resources related to the study, click here to read the Cardiff University Media Release or here to access a summary of the research from the Society for Applied Microbiology.