Bioterror defense -- tea anthrax antidote

CARDIFF , Wales, March 14 (UPI) -- Welsh and U.S. researchers say black tea -- without milk -- may be an antidote to the Bacillus anthracis -- anthrax.

Scientists led by Les Baillie of the Welsh School of Pharmacy at Cardiff University and Theresa Gallagher, Biodefence Institute, Medical Biotechnology Center of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute in Baltimore, have found that the widely available English Breakfast tea has the potential to inhibit the activity of anthrax.

The study, published in Microbiologist, also found the addition of whole milk to a standard cup of tea completely inhibited its antibacterial activity against anthrax.

The study provides further evidence of the wide range of beneficial physiological and pharmalogical effects of tea, the researchers said.

"What's more, given the ability of tea to bring solace and steady the mind and to inactivate Bacillus anthracis and its toxin, perhaps the Boston Tea Party was not such a good idea after all," Baillie said in a statement.