Jpn. J. Infect. Dis., 56, 143-145, 2003

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Original Article

In Vitro Inhibitory Effects of Tea Polyphenols on the Proliferation of Chlamydia trachomatis and Chlamydia pneumoniae

Tsutomu Yamazaki^1,2*, Miyuki Inoue¹, Nozomu Sasaki¹, Toshikatsu Hagiwara², Toshio Kishimoto², Sadashi Shiga², Motohiko Ogawa², Yukihiko Hara³ and Takaaki Matsumoto⁴

¹Department of Pediatrics, Saitama Medical School, Saitama 350-0495, ²Department of Virology I, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo 162-8640, ³Food Research Laboratories, Mitsui Norin Co., Shizuoka 426-0133 and ⁴Department of Pathology, Juntendo University, Tokyo 113-0033

(Received June 18, 2003. Accepted August 14, 2003)

*Corresponding author: Mailing address: Department of Pediatrics, Saitama Medical School, Morohongo38, Moroyama, Iruma, Saitama 350-0495, Japan. Tel & Fax: +81-49-276-1220, E-mail: benyama@saitama-med.ac.jp

SUMMARY: In vitro inhibitory effects of tea polyphenols on Chlamydia trachomatis and C. pneumoniae were investigated. A product of tea polyphenols, Polyphenon 70S was used. Chlamydial strains used were C. trachomatis D/UW-3/Cx and L2/434/Bu, and C. pneumoniae AR-39 and AC-43 strains. HeLa229 cells and HL cells were used for cultivation of C. trachomatis and C. pneumoniae, respectively. In the post-inoculation method, no inclusions of C. trachomatis were observed at 0.5 mg/ml of Polyphenon 70S. However, the toxicity of Polyphenon 70S was noted in HeLa229 cells and HL cells at a concentration of 0.25 mg/ml. In the pre-inoculation method, no toxic effects of Polyphenon 70S on the cells were noted. Complete inhibition of C. trachomatis D and L2 was noted at concentrations of 1.6 and 0.4 mg/ml, respectively. With C. pneumoniae strains, the end points were 0.8 and 1.6 mg/ml for AR-39 and AC-43, respectively. Our findings encouraged the application of tea polyphenols for topical usage.

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