German researchers find a juice containing of green tea, grape seed and grape skin extract and shiitake mushroom may reduce the incidence of common cold.
Previous research has determined that polyphenols are compounds with potent antioxidant activity, including the ability to eradicate free radicals, and have thus suggested to offer potential protection against a variety of diseases. A team of German scientists enrolled 98 people who reported symptoms of the common cold that started in the previous 24 hours, and participants randomly either received a juice containing of green tea, grape seed and grape skin extract and shiitake mushroom or a placebo beverage, twice a day for 10 days. At the end of the study, the researchers observe that “ there were highly significantly more patients in the [juice] group complaint free than in the placebo group … In addition to these self-reported values, several local findings of the physical examination were also significantly improved in the [juice] group.”
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Katrin Schutz, Matthias Sass, Axel de With, Hans-Joachim Graubaum, Jorg Grunwald. “Immune-modulating efficacy of a polyphenol-rich beverage on symptoms associated with the common cold: a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, multi-centric clinical study.” British Journal of Nutrition, 21 May 2010; doi:10.1017/S0007114510002047.