evidence: It’s time for tea: More than 30 research papers published between 2000 and 2022 have confirmed that a chemical component found in green tea can help fight various types of coronaviruses, including variants of COVID-19. [...] The goal of the collaborative report was to pave the way for tea’s translation into antiviral medications. The chemical compound found in green tea – epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG for short – has been of interest to medical researchers for many years. Now, the interest has grown. "Recently, EGCG’s strong antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 infection in in vitro models [outside of a living organism] potentiates EGCG’s use in the treatment of COVID-19 patients," Dinda said.