List of Natural Protease Inhibitors
Soybeans and Other Legumes
Potato Tubers
Green Tea
Blue-Green Algae
Protease inhibitors disable enzymes that microbes such as bacteria, viruses and fungi need to flourish. For this reason, natural and synthetic protease inhibitors are used to prevent and treat certain conditions and diseases. Today, researchers are studying natural protease inhibitors, found in a wide variety of edible plants, as potential cancer-preventing agents.
Green Tea – EGCG
Antioxidant compounds in green tea called catechins produce protease-inhibiting activity, according to a study published in the April 2003 edition of the journal Antiviral Research 3. The major catechin in green tea is epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG. The protease-inhibiting activity of green tea catechins is also reportedly involved in green tea’s anti-cancer benefits, according to the authors. The natural protease inhibitors in green tea may suppress infection by other pathogens, such as the flu virus and the adenovirus 3. These pathogens commonly cause respiratory infection in children.