Concerns about antibiotic resistance are increasing, and this race is beginning to reveal new compounds that will replace it.
A new study shows that it is possible to overcome the infection by using cinnamon instead of using antibiotics.
Since their first use, antibiotics have saved countless lives. Now, the goodness of antibiotics is being debated.
Over countless generations, an increasing number of bacterial species have developed resistance to antibiotics. This means that infections that were easy to treat are now ineffective against antibiotics.
This is a growing global problem. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) calls the antibiotic resistance crisis “one of the greatest threats to global health, food security and development today.”
For these reasons, there are other ways to effectively address infections without using antibiotics. It is vital that we find it.
Cinnamon research
Dr. from Swinburne University of Technology in Australia. Sanjida Topa and her colleagues have been researching traditional medicines.
Recently, they looked at cinnamon. They focused on this particular spice, as Topa explains, "Many previous studies have reported the antimicrobial activity of cinnamon essential oil, but this is not widely used in the pharmaceutical industry."
Specifically, cinnamon oil contains a compound called cinnamaldehyde (CAD). concentrated on its components, these are responsible for cinnamon's distinctive taste and aroma. Their findings were recently published in the journal Microbiology.
The researchers wanted to test whether CAD could break down biofilms, which are the sticky layers responsible for persistent infections that even antibiotics often can't touch.
The most part of a biofilm. A well-known example is plaque found on teeth. To assemble and formulate biofilms, bacteria must communicate with each other to form this complex structure.
Researchers wondered whether CAD could disrupt this highly ordered phenomenon.
"Natural processes such as essential oils We hypothesized that we could prevent biofilm formation by using antimicrobials. So we focused on the effects of different concentrations of cinnamaldehyde at different stages of biofilm development." Dr. Sanjida Topa
Breaking down biofilms
For their experiments, cancer They used Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium responsible for common infections in people with compromised immune systems, such as individuals with diabetes or cystic fibrosis.
When CAD was tested against bacterial biofilms, it was found to be lysed in more than three-quarters of the cases.
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It also appeared to inhibit the formation of biofilms and prevent the spread of bacteria.Biochemical analysis showed that the impairment of biofilm formation was due to reduced levels of a second messenger called bis-(3′5′)-cyclic dimeric guanosine monophosphate, which is known to be important in their formation .
“These findings definitely contribute to the search for new antimicrobials. […] Production of cinnamaldehyde for surface treatments may be the first direct application, for example [to treat skin infections].” Dr. Sanjida Topa
As Dr. Topa explains, “People have used It has a long history of using natural products and there is a renewed focus on such antimicrobial compounds.”
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