An Antidote to Antimicrobial Resistance? Natural Antibiotics
Antibiotics can be lifesaving. One of the most significant discoveries in the history of medicine, they successfully fought waves of cholera, smallpox, plague, typhoid fever, malaria, leprosy, and syphilis. They are medications that act against bacterial infections, like Legionnaires’ disease (a type of lung infection), Lyme disease, meningitis, strep throat, tuberculosis, whooping cough, bloodstream infections, and urinary tract infections. Antibiotics can:
- Successfully clear bacterial infections from your body.
- Ease your symptoms and help you feel better.
- Speed up your recovery.
- Stop you from spreading an infection to others.
- Protect you from serious illness or complications.
- Save your life.
But antibiotics will not kill, prevent, or stop many other illnesses from spreading. They do not work against viral infections like colds, sore throats, upper respiratory infections, or flu. Yet, the “overuse and misuse of these medications, as well as a lack of new drug development by the pharmaceutical industry due to reduced economic incentives and challenging regulatory requirements” have caused the growing antibiotic resistance crisis, according to articles on the causes and threats of this global concern. Unfortunately, resistance has developed to nearly all antibiotics that have been developed; no class of antibiotics lacks bacterial resistance.
And when inappropriately prescribed, diarrhea, liver and kidney injuries, nausea and vomiting, among other adverse effects, can occur. Antibiotics can interact with other medications taken at the same time and can cause allergic reactions, which can be life-threatening, as reported by Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Antibiotics in a nutshell
Credit: EpicTop10.com (License: CC BY-2.0)
This summary states it well: “The first antibiotic, salvarsan [also known as arsphenamine], was deployed in 1910. In just over 100 years, antibiotics have drastically changed modern medicine and extended the average human lifespan by 23 years. The discovery of penicillin in 1928 started the golden age of natural product antibiotic discovery that peaked in the mid-1950s. Since then, a gradual decline in antibiotic discovery and development and the evolution of drug resistance in many human pathogens has led to the current antimicrobial resistance crisis.”
So, because antibiotics are prescribed far too often and improper use is fairly widespread, causing resistance to become more common, many medical conditions can no longer be treated as well as they could in the past. This means that, when appropriate, other substances active against bacteria may be beneficial. Certain natural antimicrobials may be helpful as preventive measures when used correctly. They may give a person’s immune system a little boost to help overcome those illnesses without resorting to overusing conventional antibiotics that can help spur superbugs, the dangerous germs that don’t respond to antibiotics.
Natural antimicrobials
Many plants have antibiotic properties. Certain foods, herbs, spices, and plant-based products and extracts can kill infections and have scientifically proven healing powers. Some defend the body from a range of disease-causing agents. These include garlic, ginger, lemon, and honey. Research shows that “natural compounds with antibacterial effects could be considered a promising option.” Specifically, “the plant kingdom offers many compounds with antibacterial effects that have been [shown] to be effective in the treatment of bacterial infections, without presenting the adverse effects specific for conventional antibiotics.”
Plants produce phytochemicals, chemical compounds that help them resist fungi, bacteria, and plant virus infections, and consumption by insects and other animals. An Antibiotics (Basel) article states that the most common “with antibacterial activity are phenols, polyphenols, terpenoids, essential oils, alkaloids, lectins, and polypeptides, as well as their mixtures. Between 1986 and 2006, more than 100 antimicrobial drugs were approved for clinical use, 75 being of plant origin.”
Available natural antibiotics
Natural antibiotic agents at hand in addition to garlic, ginger, and honey include echinacea, goldenseal, clove, and oregano.
Garlic has many active antimicrobial components with a range of antibacterial properties. These compounds may be effective against multi-drug resistant bacteria and can provide a framework for the development of future antibiotics.
Ginger has been shown to treat several common diseases. “Antibacterial activity, antioxidant properties and many bioactive compounds in ginger have been identified, which could be used as an alternative method to treat many infectious diseases,” according to research published in 2022.
Honey has been used as a wound-healing agent since 2600-2200 BCE. It’s a “powerful antimicrobial agent” with promising therapeutic potential. Its antimicrobial components include hydrogen peroxide and methylglyoxal.
Clove is a dried flower bud with “anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antithrombotic, antioxidant, antimutagenic, and anti-ulcerogenic properties,” as specified in a study published in the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care. Clove extract was shown to be effective for its potential use “to treat bacterial infections” and “clove extracts can be used to develop new antimicrobial drugs.”
Oregano is a herb that has been used to reduce cough, help with digestion, and heal wounds and parasite infections. It is believed to boost the immune system and act as an antioxidant (a substance that helps protect cells against daily damage). Its “essential oil has been demonstrated to have good antibacterial effects,” according to a 2023 study.
Image: Natural antibiotics at home in Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biological Sciences (Creative Commons license)
Natural antibiotic potency
Natural antibiotics can be powerful as well as harmful. While they may be beneficial as part of a balanced diet, they are not a replacement for prescription medication. It’s a good idea to talk to a knowledgeable medical practitioner before starting a natural antibiotic regimen, to establish which will be most effective in particular cases and where the natural products are best obtained. The experienced healthcare professional can help identify companies they trust and that undergo voluntary independent quality testing and safe-sourcing practices.
Viruses versus bacteria
One thing is certain: many infections are not caused by bacteria but by viruses. These cannot be treated using antibiotics and include COVID-19, viral bronchitis, herpes, sore throat, and many ear and sinus infections. And to treat bacterial conditions when antibiotics are truly necessary, it’s important to note the following directives to prevent resistance and side effects:
- Don’t overestimate what antibiotics can do (they don’t treat infections caused by viruses).
- Take antibiotics exactly as prescribed.
- Complete the entire treatment.
- Tell your doctor if you have any side effects.
- Never take leftover antibiotics for a later illness.
- Don’t take medicine prescribed for another person.
- Safely throw away unused medicine (ask a pharmacist what to do with it).
