10th Century Remedy Can Kill Modern Superbugs like MRSA
Long lost in the tomes of history, a 1000-year old concoction could be 21st century's answer to MRSA and other antibiotic resistant bacteria.
According to ABC News, the recipe comes the 'Bald's Leechbook' buried in London's British Library. The recipe contained onion and garlic, wine and bile from cow's stomach which was combined to treat eye infections by Anglo-Saxons in the 10th century. The recipe instructed researchers to brew the medicine in a brass vessel followed by cloth straining and letting the potion stay for nine-days before it could be used.
Researchers expected the remedy to have some antibiotic properties but did not anticipate it would kill most of the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in laboratory. They also tested each of the compounds in the recipe and found that individually, the compounds did not have much effect but when combined they could destroy hard to treat Staphylococcus aureus.
"Each of the ingredients has been shown by other researchers to have some effect on bacteria in the lab - copper and bile salts can kill bacteria, and the garlic family of plants make chemicals that interfere with the bacteria's ability to damage infected tissues. But we were absolutely blown away by just how effective the combination of ingredients was," said microbiologist Freya Harrison.
The research team also found that when the recipe is diluted it cannot kill bacteria but interferes with communication between them, which can prevent an infection.
Dr. Christina Lee of the School of English, who works studies Anglo-Saxons, deciphered the recipe for molecular biologists.
