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No more ‘superbugs’? Maple syrup extract enhances antibiotic
action
Date:
April 2, 2017
Source:
American Chemical Society
Summary:
Antibiotics save lives, but there is a downside to their
ubiquity. High doses can kill healthy cells along with bacteria, while also
spurring the creation of ‘superbugs’ that don’t respond to known antibiotics.
Now, researchers report a natural way that could reduce antibiotic use without
sacrificing health: a maple syrup extract that increases the potency of these
medicines.
Antibiotics save lives every day, but there is a downside to
their ubiquity. High doses can kill healthy cells along with infection-causing
bacteria, while also spurring the creation of “superbugs” that no
longer respond to known antibiotics. Now, researchers may have found a natural
way to cut down on antibiotic use without sacrificing health: a maple syrup
extract that dramatically increases the potency of these medicines.
The researchers will present their work today at the 253rd National
Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
“Native populations in Canada have long used maple
syrup to fight infections,” says Nathalie Tufenkji, Ph.D. “I’ve
always been interested in the science behind these folk medicines.”
The idea for the project really gelled when Tufenkji, who
had been studying the antimicrobial effects of cranberry extracts, learned of
the anti-cancer properties of a phenolic maple syrup extract. “That gave
me the idea to check its antimicrobial activity,” Tufenkji says. “So,
I sent my postdoc to the store to buy some syrup.”
Using the same extraction approach as other researchers have
in the past, Tufenkji’s team at McGill University separated the sugar and water
from the syrup’s phenolic compounds, which contribute to maple syrup’s
signature golden hue.
In an initial test, the team exposed several disease-causing
bacterial strains to the extract, but they didn’t see much of an effect. Rather
than give up on maple syrup altogether, Tufenkji decided to check whether the
extract could enhance the antimicrobial potency of the commonly used
antibiotics ciprofloxacin and carbenicillin. When her team mixed the phenolic
extract with either of these medicines, they indeed found a synergistic effect,
allowing them to get the same antimicrobial effect with upwards of 90 percent
less antibiotic. The approach worked on a variety of bacterial strains,
including E. coli, which can cause gastrointestinal problems; Proteus
mirabilis, responsible for many urinary tract infections; and Pseudomonas
aeruginosa, which can cause infections often acquired by patients in hospitals.
Building on this work, Tufenkji’s team next tested the extract in
fruit flies and moth larvae. The researchers dosed fly food with pathogenic
bacteria and antibiotic, with and without the phenolic extract. Flies with
meals doused in maple syrup extract lived for days longer than those denied the
syrupy topper. The researchers observed a similar outcome with the moth larvae.
To figure out how the extract makes antibiotics work better,
the researchers investigated whether the extract changed the permeability of
bacterial cells. The extract increased the permeability of the bacteria,
suggesting that it helps antibiotics gain access to the interior of bacterial
cells. Another experiment suggested that the extract may work by a second
mechanism as well, disabling the bacterial pump that normally removes
antibiotics from these cells.
Currently, the researchers are testing the maple syrup
extract in mice. While it is likely to be years before it would be available to
patients as a prescribed medical protocol, and a pharmaceutical company would
likely need to purify the extract further to avoid any potential allergic
reactions, Tufenkji says, she’s hopeful that it may have an edge over other
would-be medications thanks to its source. “There are other products out
there that boost antibiotic strength, but this may be the only one that comes
from nature,” she says.
Story Source:
Materials provided by American Chemical Society. Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.
Cite This Page:
American Chemical Society. “No more ‘superbugs’? Maple
syrup extract enhances antibiotic action.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 2
April 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170402111240.htm>.
American Chemical Society. (2017, April 2). No more
‘superbugs’? Maple syrup extract enhances antibiotic action. ScienceDaily.
Retrieved April 3, 2017 from
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170402111240.htm
American Chemical Society. “No more ‘superbugs’? Maple
syrup extract enhances antibiotic action.” ScienceDaily.
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170402111240.htm (accessed April 3,
2017).
