Epigallocatechin Gallate for COVID-19: real-time analysis of 7 studies

EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) is a small molecule polyphenol derived from Camellia sinensis that exhibits antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 via dual mechanisms: blocking viral entry by interfering with the Spike-ACE2 receptor interaction and inhibiting the viral 3CL protease (Mpro). Additionally, EGCG provides anti-inflammatory effects by modulating cytokine production, potentially mitigating the cytokine storm associated with severe COVID-19. Recent:

Kawai

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Jun 21	Covid Analysis	Meta-analysis of epigallocatechin gallate studies
	Meta-analysis of epigallocatechin gallate studies
May 31	Kawai et al., AJPM Focus, doi:10.1016/j.focus.2026.100517	Effects of green tea gargling on Coronavirus Disease-2019: A multi-center randomized controlled trial
	67% lower hospitalization (p=0.5), 67% lower progression (p=0.5), and 1% fewer cases (p=1). RCT 1,012 adults in Japan showing no statistically significant reduction in COVID-19 incidence with green tea gargling compared to water gargling. In the full analysis set, incidence was 5.4% in both groups. In the per-protocol set (PPS, ..
Jan 19	Zhu et al., BMC Cancer, doi:10.1186/s12885-026-15553-x	Efficacy and safety of 7-day aerosolized epigallocatechin-3-gallate in oncologic patients with COVID-19 pneumonia
	38% greater improvement (p=0.002). RCT 108 hospitalized oncologic patients with COVID-19 pneumonia showing significant benefit with aerosolized epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). The EGCG group showed significantly greater CT imaging improvement (64.8% vs 40.5%, P=0.004) a..
Jan 9 2025	Williams, R., Cureus, doi:10.7759/cureus.77188	COVID-19 Humic/Fulvic Acid Plus Epigallocatechin Gallate Treatment: A Retrospective Chart Review
	97% lower mortality (p<0.0001). Retrospective 60 COVID-19 patients in a nursing home facility showing no mortality with EGCG (from green tea extract), humic/fulvic acid, and vitamin C treatment, compared to 55% mortality in the control group not receiving treatment. The..
Apr 17 2024	Yin et al., BMC Cancer, doi:10.1186/s12885-024-12228-3	Phase I/II clinical trial of efficacy and safety of EGCG oxygen nebulization inhalation in the treatment of COVID-19 pneumonia patients with cancer
	Phase I/II trial of EGCG nebulization inhalation in 54 COVID-19 pneumonia patients with cancer showing good tolerability and improvement in CT scans in 56% of patients after 7 days, with non-progression of pneumonia in 82% of patients. Th..
Dec 31 2023	Daskou et al., Pathogens, doi:10.3390/pathogens13010039	The Role of the NRF2 Pathway in the Pathogenesis of Viral Respiratory Infections
	Review discussing the role of the NRF2 antioxidant pathway in regulating viral replication and associated inflammation and cell damage pathways during respiratory viral infections. Authors summarize evidence showing that respiratory virus..
Apr 13 2023	Barh et al., Indian Journal of Medical Research, doi:10.4103/ijmr.ijmr_1701_22	Indian food habit & food ingredients may have a role in lowering the severity & high death rate from COVID-19 in Indians: findings from the first nutrigenomic analysis
	Nutrigenomics study of blood transcriptomes from Indian and western COVID-19 patients, showing Indian dietary habits and food ingredients including higher zinc, iron, curcumin, fiber, catechins, and EGCG may be associated with reduced sev..
Jun 7 2022	Storozhuk, M., medRxiv, doi:10.1101/2022.06.06.22276060	COVID-19 and per capita green tea consumption: update
	Ecological study comparing 134 countries/territories showing lower COVID-19 morbidity and mortality associated with higher per capita green tea consumption. The differences remained significant when excluding countries with low human deve..