Wildflower Shows Promise Against Superbug
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A small yellow wildflower traditionally linked to Irish folk remedies may hold a powerful weapon against dangerous superbugs. Researchers in the UK and Ireland have found that tormentil, a plant that thrives in bogs and heathlands across Europe, can inhibit the growth of Acinetobacter baumannii, a pathogen the World Health Organization classifies as one of the most threatening drug-resistant bacteria.
In laboratory tests involving 70 different bog-dwelling plants, tormentil emerged as particularly effective—not only suppressing the pathogen, which claims roughly 50,000 lives annually, but also enhancing the action of colistin, an older antibiotic often used as a last resort, according to a University of Southampton announcement.
“This work highlights the potential of revisiting plants with deep roots in traditional knowledge,” said John J. Walsh, co-lead of the project at Trinity College Dublin. “Nature still has much to teach us.” Researchers focused on bogs because plants able to survive in such harsh environments are likely to produce potent chemical defenses, Earth.com reports.
The study traced tormentil’s antibacterial effect to two key compounds, agrimoniin and ellagic acid, which appear to limit pathogens’ access to iron. When iron was reintroduced, the bacteria regained growth, confirming the mechanism. These results also help explain tormentil’s long-standing use in folk medicine for infections, oral health, and digestive issues.
The next step for the research team is exploring how to transform these natural compounds into practical drugs for modern medicine.
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