Tea strikes gold in new anticancer treatment
Researchers from the University of Missouri-Columbia found that chemicals in tea produce consistent, biologically safe gold nanoparticles, which show promising anticancer properties. Scientists discovered that nontoxic formation of gold nanoparticles can be achieved by adding gold salts to a simple cup of tea. Gold nanoparticles have many potential medicinal and technological uses, such as targeted anticancer drugs, but currently their synthesis needs toxic reagents that make them unsuitable for use in the body. The natural chemicals used in this new method are harmless in the body and produce no toxic byproducts.