Maple syrup has increased the effectiveness of antibiotics

Oleg Lischuk, N+1

Canadian scientists have found that maple syrup extract significantly increases the susceptibility of various bacteria to antibiotics, and have found out the possible mechanisms of this effect. The results of the work were presented at the 253rd National Convention-Exhibition of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco ACS San Francisco 2017 (see the press release No more ‘superbugs’? Maple syrup extract enhances antibiotic action).

The widespread and often uncontrolled use of antibiotics in medicine, veterinary medicine and agriculture has led to a wide spread of various mechanisms of resistance to microorganisms to them. According to the head of the Expert Commission on the Fight against Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria under the US President Martin Blaser, 300 thousand tons of antibiotics are used annually in the world, or about 73 billion single doses. Because of this, many research teams are searching for methods to combat antibiotic resistance, increase the effectiveness of antimicrobials and reduce their use.

McGill University researchers have studied the antimicrobial properties of maple syrup, the evaporated juice of North American maple, which the indigenous population of Canada has long used for infections. To do this, scientists have separated phenolic compounds from sugar and water, which give the syrup a characteristic golden color and, presumably, have antibacterial activity.

It turned out that the pure extract does not have a pronounced effect on bacterial cultures, and the researchers tried to add common antibiotics to it – ciprofloxacin (from the group of fluoroquinolones) and carbenicillin (from the group of penicillins). Co-administration with maple syrup extract significantly increased the effectiveness of these drugs: the antimicrobial effect was manifested even when their dose was reduced to 10 percent of the minimum effective. A similar effect was observed in experiments with various bacteria, in particular Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

At the next stage of the experiments, scientists added pathogenic bacteria and either a pure antibiotic or its mixture with maple syrup extract to the feed of fruit flies and moth larvae. Insects and larvae that received combined treatment lived several days longer than those who took only an antibiotic.

Molecular studies of the effects of maple syrup, conducted by the research team earlier, showed that its extract has a combined mechanism of action. Firstly, it increases the permeability of the bacterial wall for antimicrobials, secondly, it inhibits the membrane pump that removes drugs from the cell by active transport, thirdly, it blocks the expression of a number of bacterial genes responsible for antibiotic resistance, and, fourthly, prevents the formation of biofilms that increase the survivability of pathogens.

Currently, scientists are testing maple syrup extract on mouse models of various infections. If they are successful, it will be possible to proceed to clinical trials, which may require obtaining extracts of a higher degree of purification.

The spread of antibiotic resistance was the reason for discussing this issue at the UN General Assembly (in the entire history of the organization, this became the fourth health problem discussed at this level, after HIV infection, Ebola and non-communicable diseases).

Recently, scientists conducted an experiment that made it possible to directly observe the emergence and evolution of multidrug-resistant bacteria.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  04.04.2017