COIMBATORE: The UPASI Tea Research Institute at Coonoor in Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu is exploring the possibility of investigating the anti-viral property of Theaflavins-3, a compound abundantly found in black tea and catechins from green tea for control of Coronavirus . The study is being undertaken in collaboration with Tea Board of India through ICMR.Researchers from Taiwan and China have found that in a laboratory study SARS Cov-2 could be inhibited by compounds that are abundant in teas, CL Shreedharan, Chairman, UPASI Tea Committee, said in a statement here.Numerous black tea polyphenols especially those of Theaflavins-1, Theaflavins-2 and Theaflavins-3 were found to inhibit the SARS Cov-2 replication.In black tea, Theaflavins-3 was the most abundant (1.05 per cent).Results suggest that Theaflavins might be good starting point for the design of more active inhibitors for SARS-CoV-2 and these compounds are abundant in the extract of black tea produced from the seedling populations belonging to Camellia L SP as well as the cultivars developed by the UPASI Tea Research Institute, he said.In another recent study, a research group from Indonesia and Thailand studied the secondary metabolites secreted by plants in tropical regions that can be developed as medicines.They investigated a number of compounds for their potential to inhibit Covid-19.Conclusion of the study was that along with several compounds catechin, and epicatechin-gallate sourced from Tea (Camellia sinensis) were also the most recommended compounds that may act as potential inhibitors of Covid-19.The UPASI chairman said it was proved that drinking three to four cups of black tea in a day is associated with lower risk of myocardial infarction and reduced risk of stroke.According to him, it was also proved that drinking black tea, which has Theaflavins content, three times a day had a positive impact on reducing the degree of growth of cancerous cells including breast cancer, skin cancer and prostrate cancer.However, further research on clinical studies is required to prove the anti-viral property of tea against Covid-19, he added.