Source: Thailand Medical News Sep 24, 2019 5 years, 1 month, 4 weeks, 22 hours, 21 minutes ago
A study conducted by medical researchers from the University of Surrey have discovered that a natural antioxidant , epigallocatechin (EGCG) commonly found in green tea can help eliminate antibiotic resistant bacteria. The findings of the study was published in the
Journal of Medical Microbiology.
The study found that epigallocatechin (EGCG) can restore the activity of aztreonam, an antibiotic commonly used to treat infections caused by the bacterial pathogen
Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
P. aeruginosa is a bacteria associated with serious respiratory tract and bloodstream infections and in recent years has become resistant to many major classes of antibiotics. The number of uncurable infections have climbed over the last few years and had become a worrying trend prompting the researchers to find a solution. Currently a combination of antibiotics is used to fight
P. aeruginosa. However, these infections are becoming increasingly difficult to treat, as resistance to last line antibiotics is being observed.
To further understand the correlation and the synergy of EGCG and aztreonam, researchers from the University of Surrey conducted in vitro tests to analyze how EGCG interacted with the
P. aeruginosa, individually and in combination. The Surrey team found that the combination of aztreonam and EGCG was significantly more effective at reducing
P. aeruginosa numbers than either agent alone.
This synergistic activity was also confirmed in vivo using
Galleria mellonella (Greater Wax Moth larvae), with survival rates being significantly higher in those treated with the combination than those treated with EGCG or aztreonam alone. Additional studies conducted also showed minimal to no toxicity in human skin cells and in
Galleria mellonella larvae.
The medical researchers believe that in
P. aeruginosa, EGCG may facilitate increased uptake of aztreonam by increasing permeability in the bacteria. Another potential mechanism is EGCG's interference with a biochemical pathway linked to antibiotic susceptibility.
Professor Roberto La Ragione, Head of the Department of Pathology and Infectious Diseases in the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Surrey, said: "The World Health Organisation (WHO) has listed antibiotic resistant
Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a critical threat to human health. We have shown that we can successfully eliminate such threats with the use of natural products in combination with antibiotics already in use. Further development of these alternatives to antibiotics may allow them to be used in clinical settings in the future."
"Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious threat to global public health. Without effective antibiotics, the success of medical treatments will be compromised. We urgently need to develop novel antibiotics in the fight against AMR. Natural products such as EGCG, used in combination with currently licensed antibiotics, may be a way of improving their effectiveness and clinically useful lifespan."commented lead author, Dr. Jonathan Betts, Senior Research Fellow in the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Surrey, i
n an
interview with Thailand Medical News.
The team is planning a next stage of human clinical trials starting late 2019 and hope that the results of that trial will set a new precedence in treatment protocols involving
Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections. The team is also studying other antibiotic resistance diseases and trying finding solutions to enhance treatment protocols.
Reference:
Jonathan W. Betts et al. Restoring the activity of the antibiotic aztreonam using the polyphenol epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) against multidrug-resistant clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Journal of Medical Microbiology (2019). DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.001060
