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Periodontitis is an inflammatory gum disease driven by bacterial infection and left untreated it can lead to complications including tooth loss. The disease has also been associated with diabetes mellitus, preterm birth, cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. One of the chief bacterial culprits behind periodontitis is Porphyromonas gingivalis, which colonizes biofilms on tooth surfaces and proliferates in deep periodontal pockets. Matcha, a finely ground green tea powder, may help keep P. gingivalis at bay. Researchers in Japan report that matcha inhibited the growth of P. gingivalis in lab experiments. In addition, in a clinical study involving 45 people with...

AFTER decades of disappointment, we may have a new lead on fighting Alzheimer’s disease. Compelling evidence that the condition is caused by a bacterium involved in gum disease could prove a game-changer... Now researchers from Cortexyme and several universities have reported finding the two toxic enzymes that P. gingivalis uses to feed on human tissue in 99 and 96 per cent of 54 human Alzheimer’s brain samples taken from the hippocampus – a brain area important for memory (Science Advances, doi.org/gftvdt). These protein-degrading enzymes are called gingipains, and they were found in higher levels in brain tissue that also had...