A new study has evaluated a low -cost but effective means of fighting against bacterial resistance using curcumin – the compound of the natural yellow plant in turmeric.
In 2017, a tragic death in a Nevada hospital was linked to a new strain of bacteria which had developed resistance to 26 different antibiotics. Called “Superbugs”, such bacteria resistant to antibiotics (including SRM) remain a threat of urgent public health.
Now, researchers from Texas A&M University have shown that curcumin, the compound that gives turmeric its characteristic bright yellow color, can be used to reduce this antibiotic resistance.
They showed that when curcumin is intentionally given to bacteria in the form of food, then activated by light, it can trigger deleterious reactions within these microbes, ultimately killing them. They have shown that this process reduces the number of strains resistant to antibiotics and again makes conventional antibiotics effective.
Study results were published this week In the journal Scientific Reports.
“We need alternative means to kill superbaccents or find a new way to modify natural processes within bacteria so that antibiotics are starting to act,” said Dr. Vanderlei Bagnato, professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Senior Author of study in the study.
Photodynamic inactivation, a technique that has proven to be promising in the fight against bacterial resistance, uses light and light molecules, called photosensitizing, to produce reactive oxygen species which can kill microorganisms by disturbing their Metabolic process.
In new experiences, the team has used curcumin, which is also a natural food for bacteria. They tested this technique on stumps of Staphylococcus aureus (STM) which are resistant to amoxicillin, erythromycin and gentamicin.
The researchers exposed bacteria to many cycles of exposure to light, then compared the minimum concentration of antibiotics necessary to kill bacteria after exposure to light compared to those which were not exposed to the light.
“When we have a mixed population of bacteria where some are resistant, we can use a photodynamic inactivation to reduce bacterial distribution, leaving more or less similar strains in their response to antibiotics”, Bagnato Tell Texas A & M News.
“It is much easier to predict the precise antibiotic dose necessary to eliminate the infection.”
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The team noted that photodynamic inactivation using curcumin has enormous potential as adjuvant or additional therapy with antibiotics for diseases, such as pneumonia, caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria.
“Photodynamic inactivation offers a profitable treatment option, which is crucial to reducing medical spending not only in developing countries but also in the United States,” said Dr. Vladislav Yakovlev, professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and author of the study. “It also has potential applications in military medicine, where this technology could be used to treat wounds in the battlefield and prevent the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance, a significant concern in combat situations.”
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