Origano oil
Its use for
chickens was mentioned above and in the laboratory, it has also been
studied in mice.
Helicobacter
pylori (H. pylori)
causes stomach infections in two-thirds of humans worldwide (3).
The side effects include peptic ulcers and even stomach cancer.
Published in
2016, researchers fed mice a 2:1 mixture of essential oils made from
summer savory (Satureja
hortensis) and
oregano (Origanum
vulgare) (4).
The results? In
70% of mice, this mixture was said to eradicate the pathogens.
Given that H. pylori has many antibiotic resistant strains, they
suggested:
“…this
essential oil mixture has great potential as a new, effective, and
safe therapeutic agent against H. pylori.”
Another study,
this one being in vitro, tested oregano essential oil against 59
different bacterial strains. It was said to demonstrate varying
degrees of effectiveness against all. The researchers claimed it
“completely
inhibits the growth of multidrug-resistant cystic fibrosis pathogens”
which were tested in the experiment (5).
Oil
Of Oregano
Oil
of oregano takes care of pathogenic bacteria without disrupting
beneficial bacteria. It is also antiviral and antifungal which makes
it a powerful, natural antibiotic with a three-in-one combination
that rivals pharmaceuticals while not encouraging antibiotic
resistance.
The key antimicrobial ingredient in oil of oregano is carvacrol. You should ensure that your source is at least 70 percent carvacrol content in order to be effective.
The key antimicrobial ingredient in oil of oregano is carvacrol. You should ensure that your source is at least 70 percent carvacrol content in order to be effective.
Garlic
Cultures
across the world have long recognized garlic for its preventive and
curative powers.
Research has
found that garlic can be an
effective treatment against many forms of bacteria, including
Salmonella
and Escherichia
coli (E.
coli). Garlic has
even been considered for use against multi-drug resistant
tuberculosis.
Garlic
Up first is the
natural antibiotic garlic! Garlic has been used medicinally by
cultures around the world for thousands of years. In fact, it was
used in the 1700s to ward off the plague.
Garlic possesses potent antibiotic, antiviral, antifungal, and antimicrobial properties and is able to help protect and facilitate removal of unfriendly bacteria. It is also very high in natural antioxidants that destroy free radicals, which also supports a strong immune system.
The active ingredient in garlic, allicin, is the key component to killing and warding off harmful bacteria. Crush it to activate these compounds, and eat it raw, in a warm tea or in lightly cooked food.
Garlic possesses potent antibiotic, antiviral, antifungal, and antimicrobial properties and is able to help protect and facilitate removal of unfriendly bacteria. It is also very high in natural antioxidants that destroy free radicals, which also supports a strong immune system.
The active ingredient in garlic, allicin, is the key component to killing and warding off harmful bacteria. Crush it to activate these compounds, and eat it raw, in a warm tea or in lightly cooked food.
Ancient onion and garlic medicinal recipe cures drug-resistant superbug infections
Source: Ancient onion and garlic medicinal recipe cures drug-resistant superbug infections – NaturalNews.com
http://www.naturalnews.com
by:
Amy Goodrich
October
14, 2015
A
thousand-year-old potion found in an Old English manuscript in the
British Library to treat an eye infection has amazed the scientific
world. Researcher at the University of Nottingham found it to be
very effective against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
aureus,
known as MRSA.
Combating MRSA and other antibiotic-resistant bacteria is one of the biggest challenges hospitals face each year. Due to overuse of and overexposure to antibiotics, some bacterial strains have evolved to withstand our drugs. This gives rise to a whole army of superbugs which are very hard to treat and cause the death of at least 23,000 people each year.
Anglo-Saxon expert Dr. Christina Lee, from the University of Nottingham, found and translated this “eye salve” from Bald’s Leechbook, which is a collection of ancient remedies to treat a wide range of ailments.
Take cropleek and garlic, of both equal quantities, pound them well together, take wine and bullocks’ gall, of both equal quantities, mix with the leek, put this then into a brazen vessel, let it stand nine days in the brass vessel, wring out through a cloth and clear it well, put it into a horn, and about night time apply it with a feather to the eye; the best leechdom. — Recipe to treat a stye, translated from Bald’s Leechbook.
Only after teaming up with colleague Dr. Freya Harrison and her team from the microbiology department were they able to recreate the ancient salve.
They tried to make the remedy as close as possible to the original recipe, which was not easy since our crops now differ a lot from the ones in the 10th century.
They tested the eye salve on a large culture of MRSA, and the results were rather unexpected.
“We did not see this coming at all,” said microbiologist Harrison, the lead researcher. “We thought that Bald’s eye salve might show a small amount of antibiotic activity. … But we were absolutely blown away by just how effective the combination of ingredients was,” she added.
They found that the unique combination of Bald’s eye salve killed up to 90 percent of MRSA. To back up their findings, Texas Tech University tested the salve on MRSA skin wounds on mice and came to the same conclusion.
The salve might be more powerful than any antibiotic on the market right now.
“We let our artificial ‘infections’ grow into dense, mature populations called ‘biofilms,’ where the individual cells bunch together and make a sticky coating that makes it hard for antibiotics to reach them,” Harrison said in a statement. “But unlike many modern antibiotics, Bald’s eye salve has the power to breach these defenses.”
This new study shows us that we can learn important lessons from our past. It is actually not the first time researchers found the answer in nature instead of the lab. There may be a lot of dodgy medieval practices and remedies out there, but great wisdom is hiding in these ancient books as well. Artemisinin to treat malaria, for instance, is another substance that came to us via an age-old Chinese medical text.
“This truly cross-disciplinary project explores a new approach to modern health care problems by testing whether medieval remedies contain ingredients which kill bacteria or interfere with their ability to cause infection,” Dr. Harrison concluded.
This research project will be presented at the Society for General Microbiology conference in Birmingham, UK, and the results will also be submitted to the journal Nature.
Sources for this article include:
http://www.bbc.com
http://gizmodo.com
http://www.usatoday.com
http://www.newscientist.com
http://www.cdc.gov
http://www.sciencealert.com
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk
Combating MRSA and other antibiotic-resistant bacteria is one of the biggest challenges hospitals face each year. Due to overuse of and overexposure to antibiotics, some bacterial strains have evolved to withstand our drugs. This gives rise to a whole army of superbugs which are very hard to treat and cause the death of at least 23,000 people each year.
Anglo-Saxon expert Dr. Christina Lee, from the University of Nottingham, found and translated this “eye salve” from Bald’s Leechbook, which is a collection of ancient remedies to treat a wide range of ailments.
Take cropleek and garlic, of both equal quantities, pound them well together, take wine and bullocks’ gall, of both equal quantities, mix with the leek, put this then into a brazen vessel, let it stand nine days in the brass vessel, wring out through a cloth and clear it well, put it into a horn, and about night time apply it with a feather to the eye; the best leechdom. — Recipe to treat a stye, translated from Bald’s Leechbook.
Only after teaming up with colleague Dr. Freya Harrison and her team from the microbiology department were they able to recreate the ancient salve.
They tried to make the remedy as close as possible to the original recipe, which was not easy since our crops now differ a lot from the ones in the 10th century.
They tested the eye salve on a large culture of MRSA, and the results were rather unexpected.
“We did not see this coming at all,” said microbiologist Harrison, the lead researcher. “We thought that Bald’s eye salve might show a small amount of antibiotic activity. … But we were absolutely blown away by just how effective the combination of ingredients was,” she added.
They found that the unique combination of Bald’s eye salve killed up to 90 percent of MRSA. To back up their findings, Texas Tech University tested the salve on MRSA skin wounds on mice and came to the same conclusion.
The salve might be more powerful than any antibiotic on the market right now.
“We let our artificial ‘infections’ grow into dense, mature populations called ‘biofilms,’ where the individual cells bunch together and make a sticky coating that makes it hard for antibiotics to reach them,” Harrison said in a statement. “But unlike many modern antibiotics, Bald’s eye salve has the power to breach these defenses.”
This new study shows us that we can learn important lessons from our past. It is actually not the first time researchers found the answer in nature instead of the lab. There may be a lot of dodgy medieval practices and remedies out there, but great wisdom is hiding in these ancient books as well. Artemisinin to treat malaria, for instance, is another substance that came to us via an age-old Chinese medical text.
“This truly cross-disciplinary project explores a new approach to modern health care problems by testing whether medieval remedies contain ingredients which kill bacteria or interfere with their ability to cause infection,” Dr. Harrison concluded.
This research project will be presented at the Society for General Microbiology conference in Birmingham, UK, and the results will also be submitted to the journal Nature.
Sources for this article include:
http://www.bbc.com
http://gizmodo.com
http://www.usatoday.com
http://www.newscientist.com
http://www.cdc.gov
http://www.sciencealert.com
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk
Honey
Since the time
of Aristotle, honey has been used as an ointment that helps wounds to
heal and prevents or draws out infection.
Healthcare
professionals today have found it helpful in treating chronic wounds,
burns, ulcers, bedsores, and skin grafts. For example, results of a
study
from 2016 demonstrate that honey dressings can help to heal
wounds.
The
antibacterial effects of honey are usually attributed to its hydrogen
peroxide content. However, manuka honey fights off bacteria, though
it has a lower hydrogen peroxide content.
A 2011 study
reported that the best-known type of honey inhibits approximately 60
kinds of bacteria. It also suggests that honey successfully
treats wounds infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
aureus (MRSA).
Antibacterial
properties aside, honey may help wounds to heal by providing a
protective coating that fosters a moist environment.
Honey
is one the oldest known antibiotics, tracing back to ancient times.
Egyptians frequently used honey as a natural antibiotic and skin
protectant.
Honey contains
hydrogen
peroxide, which may account for some of its antibacterial
properties. It also has a high sugar content, which can help stop the
growth of certain bacteria.
Additionally,
honey has a low pH level. This works to pull moisture away from
bacteria, causing the bacteria to get dehydrated and die off.
To use honey as
an antibiotic, apply it directly to the wound or infected area. The
honey can help kill off the bacteria and aid in the healing process.
If possible, opt for raw Manuka
honey. This form of honey offers the most health benefits. You
can purchase raw Manuka honey here.
You can also
ingest honey to aid in the treatment of internal infections. Simply
swallow a whole tablespoon or stir it into a warm cup of herbal tea
for a soothing treat.
Honey is
generally safe to use on the skin or in the body, though you should
never give honey to an infant under 1 years old. Instead, consult
your doctor for an appropriate alternative.
Perhaps
the most palatable antibiotic comes in the form of manuka
honey. Applied topically, it can kill a wide range of pathogens
including MRSA and flesh-eating bacteria. It was also found that the
treated bacteria did not build up any resistance, which would
eventually render manuka honey ineffective.
This is certainly not an exhaustive list of natural antibiotics, but a great start for an all natural pharmacy. Also, consider reishi, pau d'arco, Una de Gato, olive leaf extract, cloves, turmeric and even lemons to round out your antibiotic arsenal.
This is certainly not an exhaustive list of natural antibiotics, but a great start for an all natural pharmacy. Also, consider reishi, pau d'arco, Una de Gato, olive leaf extract, cloves, turmeric and even lemons to round out your antibiotic arsenal.
Manuka honey
Last but not
least, we circle back to this unique form of honey. As mentioned, the
idea of using it for kennel cough in dogs and other veterinarian
purposes had been proposed. What research is there to suggest that
might work?
Actually, a fair
amount.
There
are over 200 research entries on PubMed
about using Manuka honey for gingivitis, periodontal disease (43),
dental plaque (44),
neuropathic diabetic foot ulcers (45),
sinus infections (46),
and even MRSA (47),
among others. Generally, they’re looking at it for topical uses.
During that
segment on the Dr. Oz show about powerful natural antibiotics, the
first one they talked about was using Manuka honey for cuts and
scrapes. Oz closed the discussion by saying “this
stuff is not just science fiction, it really does work.”
Having covered
other pets, we can’t forget about alternative antibiotics for
horses!
There was
actually a clinical trial done involving eight adult horses and
whether this honey would help with the healing of contaminated wounds
(48).
The results were mixed though. Even though the Manuka treatment group
experienced a smaller wound area by reducing retraction, it
did not change the overall healing time
for those horses.
Going back to
humans, a randomized study involving 108 patients with sloughy venous
leg ulcers seemed to show a lot of promise (49).
After 4
weeks, MRSA was eradicated from 70% of the patients
(7 total) treated with Manuka honey, compared to 16% (1 total) given
hydrogel wound treatments.
There has been a
lot of controversy about whether honey is better or the same for
dental health versus refined sugar. A couple of years ago, a clinical
study was done involving 30 children with a history of tooth
infection or decay (50):
-
From 9 to 12 years old.
-
All had at least one decayed tooth.
-
15 of the kids were given Manuka honey to use twice daily.
-
15 of the kids did not get it. They were used as a control group.
The results?
After being measured on day 10 and 21:
“Children
using Manuka honey showed statistically significant reductions in
salivary S. mutans”
Manuka flower,
photo credit: Forest & Kim Starr
Salivary
Streptococci mutans
are believed to contribute to cavities, tooth decay, and gum
infection. For reducing colony counts, the researchers said Manuka
might be an “effective
adjunctive oral hygiene measure.”
Some herbal
remedy websites claim that manuka honey heals cavities, but that is
flat out wrong. Nothing can repair a tooth cavity, other than your
dentist with a drill and filling.
While the
honey’s purported medicinal uses come from topical and oral
application, it is a delicacy
which is quite in demand as a food.
People love the
taste since it’s like regular honey, only stronger. Its unique
flavor is because the bees make it using Manuka flower nectar, a
flowering tree which is only native to New Zealand.
It’s not cheap
and it’s hard to find in stores, but it’s definitely worth trying
this tasty sweetener.
Echinacea
Echinacea has been used to treat infections for many years.
Native American
and other traditional healers have used echinacea
for hundreds of years to treat infections and wounds. Researchers are
beginning to understand why.
A
study published in the Journal
of Biomedicine and Biotechnology
reports that extract of Echinacea
purpurea can kill
many different kinds of bacteria, including Streptococcus
pyogenes (S.
pyogenes).
S. pyogenes is
responsible for strep
throat, toxic shock syndrome, and the "flesh-eating disease"
known as necrotizing
fasciitis.
Echinacea may
also fight inflammation
associated with bacterial infection. It is available to purchase in
health stores or online.
Echinacea
has been used to treat a wide variety of infections for hundreds of
years. Traditionally, it was used to treat open wounds, diphtheria,
blood poisoning, and other bacterial related illnesses.
Today, this potent herb is used mostly for colds and flu, due to its ability to destroy the most dangerous forms of bacteria such as staphylococcus aureus, which causes deadly MRSA.
Today, this potent herb is used mostly for colds and flu, due to its ability to destroy the most dangerous forms of bacteria such as staphylococcus aureus, which causes deadly MRSA.
What should you
take for a cold? You often hear people say that Echinacea is a good
herbal remedy to relieve the symptoms.
Since the common
cold is a viral infection, antibiotics have no effect on it. What’s
interesting about Echinacea is there have been studies suggesting it
might be antibacterial and be a natural antiviral (16)
(17).
Echinacea, which
is actually a type of daisy, is one
of the most extensively studied herbs.
PubMed shows over a thousand entries for it and if you filter those
to just clinical trials, you get 83.
Regarding its
potential as a natural antiviral supplement, the
most interesting clinical trial is from 2012
simply due to the sheer size of it.
The goal was to
see if it might help with cold prevention. Conducted by Cardiff
University, 755 healthy people were given an Echinacea supplement or
a placebo to take for a 4 month period. The researchers claimed:
“Echinacea
reduced the total number of cold episodes, cumulated episode days
within the group, and pain-killer medicated episodes.”
The
difference was said to be a 26% shorter duration of illness.
Recurrent colds were cut by 59% in the study. While it sounds great,
the UK government’s NHS pointed out some major concerns they had
about the study (18):
-
No results table was published
-
No estimates of error around measures of effect were reported
-
No declaration of funding
-
Only partial disclosure for conflicts of interest
-
Selective reporting of results
Do natural
antibiotics work? While technically this study was looking at
antiviral, the concerns expressed above are reasons why
you have to really look past the headlines
regardless of what a purported herbal cure or treatment may be. Even
though it’s well studied, Echinacea remains unproven.
Karanfilić
Clove
Clove has
traditionally been used in dental procedures. Research is now finding
that clove water extract may
be effective against many different kinds of bacteria, including
E. coli.
Koloidno
srebro
Colloidal
silver has been known as an effective antibiotic for centuries. In
the early 1900s, Alfred
Searle, founder of the Searle pharmaceutical company, discovered
that it could kill the most deadly pathogens.
Searle stated
that applying colloidal silver to human subjects has been done in a
large number of cases with astonishing results. The main advantage
was that it was rapidly fatal to microbes without toxic action on its
host.
Recent research has also stated that colloidal silver can destroy antibiotic resistant microbes like MRSA, the bird flu, and SARS.
Recent research has also stated that colloidal silver can destroy antibiotic resistant microbes like MRSA, the bird flu, and SARS.
Colloidal silver
So far
everything discussed is a spice or a derivative of one. There are
also minerals which have shown some promise in preliminary research.
Perhaps the most talked about is silver.
What is
colloidal silver? It is the suspension of microscopic silver
particles in distilled water, which is created using electrolysis. It
is sold as a dietary supplement.
The bar on the
left (group 1) was treated with saline, while the other 4 bars were
treated with topical colloidal silver solution in dosages ranging
from as high as 30 ppm (group 2) to as low as 5 ppm (group 5).
A recent study
involving sheep found that when compared to the control groups
(non-treated), the groups given a topical colloidal silver solution
“showed a
significant decrease in biofilm biomass”
from Staphylococcus
aureus (11).
Even though they
said that the study’s model “appears
safe” it’s
important to reiterate that this is unproven and may even have
harmful side effects in humans. The FDA put out a consumer warning
several years ago that silver dietary supplements might cause
permanent skin discoloration (12).
Nearly a decade
ago, there was an interesting report in a medical journal of using it
colloidal silver on a 12 year old child with severe cystic fibrosis,
but it is not approved for that nor any other medical use (13).
A lot more research needs to be done on this mineral before it could
even be considered as a candidate for treatment.
Mustard
oil
Mustard oil
Oregano isn’t
the only one on this list. Mustard seed essential oil also appears to
work.
Because of a
compound called allyl
isothiocyanate,
one in vitro study said it
was “the
most effective”
when compared to oregano and thyme oils,
which were all tested against foodborne pathogens (salmonella, staph,
and listeria) (6).
In 2016, a
discussion among doctors and scientists on respiratory infections
took place in Frankfurt, Germany. This “expert panel” recommended
the consideration of mustard oils as a possible future therapy (7).
The article
summarizing the meeting, which was published in a medical journal,
purported that “efficacy
and safety of mustard oils had been confirmed for adults and children
by several clinical studies.” [eg.
B. Fintelmann V et al. Curr Med Res Opin 2012; 28: 1799-807; Goos KH
et al. Drug Res 2006; 56: 249-57; Goos KH et al. Drug Res 2007; 57:
238-46]
Professor Ludger
Klimek of Wiesbaden, Germany was quoted as saying:
“Especially
in the early stages of inflammatory respiratory disorders, include
herbal medicines for the treatment of first choice because, unlike
synthetic chemical antibiotics, mustard oils have not only a single
mechanism of action, but they act multimodal.”
It will be
exciting to see in the future whether others will agree or not, after
further research is done.
Cimet
Cinnamon
A search for the
two words “cinnamon antibiotic” on PubMed yields over 100
results. Not only has it been studied extensively for having
antibacterial properties on its own, but it has even been looked at
for possibly combining with traditional antibiotics like doxycycline
(8).
On its own,
doxycycline is a type of tetracycline antibiotic commonly used for
cystic acne, urinary tract infections, gum disease, and many others.
Cinnamon
bark essential oil
has been tested in lab experiments for things ranging from
drug-resistant E. coli strains to possible benefits against Listeria
on meat (9)
(10).
Whether we will
ever see this spice developed into actual treatments may be
complicated by the fact that the most popular type, cassia cinnamon,
is toxic to the
human liver.
Instead, perhaps the Ceylon variety might offer more potential for
cinnamon
benefits in healthcare.
Coconut
oil
Coconut oil
This is one of
the most overhyped superfoods. Many of its purported benefits are
exaggerated or outright fabricated, as is the case with the stretch
mark coconut oil treatment.
That being said,
there is scientific research to suggest that a type of saturated fat
in it might have antibacterial and antifungal properties. That fat is
lauric acid
(C12:0).
The list of
foods high in lauric acid is quite short. Aside from coconut, there’s
palm nut oil, cinnamon oil, and goat milk. Regular milk from a cow
has it too, but about half the amount versus goat. The plant-based
sources of lauric acid have exponentially higher amounts – coconut
oil is best at 48%.
One study wanted
to see if lauric acid would work topically as a natural antibiotic
for acne bacteria (31).
To be clear, not
all pimples are caused by bacteria and in fact, the exact causes of
this skin condition are poorly understood. But for some instances of
inflammation, the
bacterium Propionibacterium
acnes (P.
acnes) has been singled out as a likely culprit.
The study only
involved mice and Petri dish experiments, so it’s hard to read too
far into it. Mice don’t even have pimples, so they had to use the
same type of bacteria and monitor the mice for ear swelling and
abscesses, which were locations where they applied the P. acnes
bacteria.
They found both
lauric acid and another saturated fatty acid, decanoic acid (capric
acid), seemed to work for acne bacteria. However, it
was the lauric acid which was said to have strong antibiotic activity
both in the mice as well as the Petri dish. Whether that translates
to a natural cystic acne treatment though is untested.
A double-blind
controlled human study looked at using coconut and olive oils for
atopic dermatitis/eczema (32).
That type of
dermatitis
causes itchy skin which is often red, swollen, and sometimes cracked.
Staphylococcus
aureus bacteria
will use this compromised skin as a breeding ground, which only
further worsens the side effects.
After 26
patients received one or the other oil for a period of 4 weeks:
-
5% (1 patient) who had topically applied the virgin coconut oil still tested positive for Staphylococcus aureus.
-
50% (6 patients) of those applying olive oil still tested positive.
Those findings,
along with “broad-spectrum
activity”
against the bacteria in lab experiments, led researchers to conclude
it might be useful in natural topical antibiotics, as a proactive
treatment against atopic dermatitis colonization.
While
not a bacteria, drug-resistant Candida
species are a growing problem. Fluconazole, sold under the brand name
Diflucan, is one treatment used for this type of fungus. When coconut
oil was pitted against it in an experiment, the researchers found the
coconut performed better for some species, such as Candida
krusei (33).
Who knows,
perhaps future research using humans will find coconut oil
derivatives are useful as a natural antifungal for candida, as well
as antibacterial purposes. We will have to wait and see. It would be
interesting to see researchers test it on nail fungus.
Grapefruit seed extract
Here’s one you
don’t hear much about, nor is there a great deal of research on it.
But what you can dig up on it is fascinating.
A University of
Texas study pitted grapefruit seed extract against 5 commonly used
topical antibacterial agents (34):
-
Bactroban
-
Nitrofurazone
-
Nystatin (mentioned above for denture stomatitis)
-
Silvadene
-
Sulfamylon
They tested
these and the grape seed extract against 67
distinct biotypes
in well plates. After being incubated overnight, they checked the
plates and the
extract was said to be “consistently
antibacterial”
against all
and performed comparable to the proven topical ointments.
We’ve talked
about a possible natural antibacterial for dogs, but how about bees?
American foulbrood (AFB) is major problem for beehives. It can cause
their destruction and the root of AFB is the spore forming
Paenibacillus
larvae.
A study
concluded at least some forms of grapefruit seed extract could be
used as a substitute for chemotherapeutic products, which are
currently used for controlling the disease in beehives (35).
A small study
involving 3 middle-aged men and 1 women took place in Nigeria. Each
had a urinary tract infection (UTI) which tested positive for a
different cause (36):
-
E. coli
-
Staphylococcus aureus
-
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
-
Klebsiella species
They were
instructed to consume a dosage of 5 to 6 dried or fresh grapefruit
seeds every 8 hours, for a period of 2 weeks.
All were said to
respond favorably, with the exception of the man with P.
aeruginosa. It was
noted that his type of infection was antibiotic-resistant
(gentamicin, tarivid, and augmentin failed). After using the
grapefruit seed for 2 weeks, there was “reversal
of the antibiotic resistance pattern.”
Obviously
though, a lot more research needs to be done to find out if this may
be a natural treatment for urinary tract infections, or any other
type for that matter. You can’t say a non-controlled study of four
people is evidence it can control bacterial infections!
Myrrh
When you hear of
frankincense and myrrh, you probably think of the gifts the magi
brought after the birth of baby Jesus. But that’s not the only time
it’s mentioned in the Bible…
The Old
Testament talks about camels who were loaded with balm and myrrh
(Genesis 37:25). The Lord instructed Moses to use it as part of a
sacred anointing oil (Exodus 30:23).
In the New
Testament, Jesus was offered wine and myrrh before crucifixion (Mark
15:23) and then after, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea brought it
to wrap Jesus’ body (John 19:39):
“Nicodemus
also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture
of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight.”
Clearly, this
myrrh holds significance, but what is it exactly?
The Commiphora
myrrha tree makes
an aromatic resin, which is basically a natural gum. Also called
African myrrh, it’s native to the Arabian peninsula and nearby
countries in Africa, such as Ethiopia and Kenya.
At the open, we
mentioned a lady claiming she used it in lieu of over the counter
antibiotics for cats. Perhaps she is onto something, as there has
been research in recent years suggesting it has antimicrobial
activity.
In the lab, one
compound in myrrh was found
to have high activity against SA1199B, a strain of Staphylococcus
aureus
which is multidrug-resistant
(37).
As far as myrrh
essential oils, one study found them to have “moderate to high”
activity against Gram-positive bacteria (38).
Another tested
it against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative and found (39):
“considerable
inhibitory effects against all tested organisms, except Pseudomonas”
One scientific
review proposed the possibility of using it as an ingredient in acne
vulgaris products (40).
In terms of
wound healing, a study involving mice found that (41):
“Ointment
formulations of both the oil and resin were found to be non-irritant
at the concentrations used and showed significant increase in wound
contraction rate, shorter epithelization time and higher skin
breaking strength as compared to the negative control.”
They claimed the
natural antifungal activity was comparable to the medication
griseofulvin, while the antibacterial activity was comparable to
ciprofloxacin.
A study which
claimed to be “one
of the most extensive on anti-virulence screenings”
using 83 different essential oils claimed that myrrh – along with
black pepper and cananga oils – demonstrate the most potential
against Staphylococcus
aureus (42).
Perhaps in the future, compounds within these could be developed into
new alternatives to antibiotics for some types of infections.
Reference:
