Funding PHD opportuni-teas | IMPACT
£114,000 DONATED BY PUKKA OVER THREE YEARS
1
FULL-TIME PHD STUDENTSHIP FULLY FUNDED
13
2M
CUPS OF PUKKA TEA ARE DRUNK EACH DAY
FUNDING PHD OPPORTUNI-TEAS Teaming up with researchers at the University of Westminster, Pukka Herbs is funding a three-year PhD studentship, looking into the effects of plant compounds and the potential health benefits of drinking Pukka teas.
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ach day, over two million cups of Pukka tea are enjoyed across 40 countries globally. Despite the scope and success of the company, it remains true to its mission: to promote health and wellness through the natural, powerful properties of herbs. Following the success of MSc projects looking at medicinal plants, Dr Anthony Booker, Senior Lecturer in Chinese Herbal Medicine and Medicinal Plant Science, and Professor Jimmy Bell, Professor of Life Sciences, met researchers at Pukka to discuss what kind of projects the University might be able to offer to support the company’s mission. Pukka generously pledged £114,000 to fund a full-time, three-year PhD studentship at the University’s School of Life Sciences, to cover tuition, equipment and additional bench fees. The agreed research area is based on the concept of hormesis; an idea that a small amount of stress (such as that experienced through exercise) is good for the cells in your body and if you give them this stress they will push back, which is one of the ways that the body maintains good health. The project will investigate how Pukka teas may promote this to happen, so that they can find evidence (at least on a lab scale at first, and potentially in future through clinical trials) of whether this is one way in which drinking a cup of Pukka tea each day is beneficial to consumers’ health. In more scientific terms, the chosen PhD researcher, Steve Woodley, will measure the potential effect of plant
compounds in the tea on mitochondrial activity and microvesicle metabolism. In doing so, he will determine the bioactive combinations and provide important new knowledge about how herbal compounds activate cellular elements, leading to increases in mitochondrial health and well-being. The project began in January this year, and as one of Pukka’s newest PhD students, Steve was invited to attend inductions and training with the company, including an introduction to its philosophy, a tea blending and tasting session, and lessons in Ayurvedic principles and sustainability. In March, Steve and the team were also invited to Bristol for a tour of Pukka’s
facilities. During the visit, Dr Rhys Mould, Research Fellow – Life Sciences, gave a presentation about the technical details of mitochondrial analysis and they discussed the essential details of the project, as well as the prospect of other projects and what further funding may help them in future investigations. Above: Dr Anthony Booker, Steve Woodley and Dr Rhys Mould visited Pukka’s offices and factory in Bristol
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