Chemicals in Kangra tea are considered to be quite effective in boosting immunity

Is Kangra tea effective in the treatment of coronavirus disease? But this is what Dr Sanjay Kumar, the director of Palampur-based Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT) has claimed during a webinar, organized by the institute on the occasion of the International Tea Day on Saturday.

According to him, the chemicals in Kangra tea could be effective in boosting immunity as “they can block coronavirus activity better than anti-HIV drugs,” that many countries, including India want to use in the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

“Using computer-based models, the scientists screened 65 bioactive chemicals or polyphenols that could bind to a specific viral protein more efficiently than commercially available anti-HIV drugs approved for treating COVID-19 patients. These chemicals might block the activity of the viral protein that helps the virus to thrive inside human cells”, said Dr Sanjay Kumar, while discussing about benefits of Kangra tea for human health and also about technologies developed and transferred by the IHBT for combating Covid-19 disease.

A constituent of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), IHBT has also produced and supplied the alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing tea extract and natural aromatic oils through its technology partners.

The Institute has developed herbal soap with tea extract, natural saponins and without SLES (sodium laureth sulphate), SDS (sodium dodecyl sulphate) and mineral oil. This soap provides anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, cleansing and moisturizing benefits. The soap is being produced and marketed by two companies based in Himachal Pradesh.