Toxin discovered in a plant could be doctors’ new weapon in the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Scientists say they have discovered the method of using a toxin from a plant to develop the next generation of antibiotics, which will also be effective in the fight against bacteria that have developed resistance to classical treatments, writes The Guardian.

Albicidin is a toxin produced by a pathogen called Xanthomonas albilineans that attacks sugar cane. But the substance is also unusually effective in fighting bacteria, says a group of researchers from Britain, Germany and Poland, who are trying to take advantage of its properties.

“Bacteria in the lab could not develop any kind of resistance to albicidin. That’s why we’re so excited, because we think it’s going to be very hard for bacteria to develop resistance to the antibiotics we’re going to develop from albicidin,” says Dmitry Ghilarov, one among researchers.

Although the properties of albicidin were known, antibiotics could not be made with its help, until now, because it was not known what side effects the substance would have on the human body. But researchers say they now understand exactly how the toxin works.

“We now have a structural understanding, we can modify albicidin to improve its effectiveness and its pharmacological properties,” says Ghilarov.

“We consider it to be one of the most promising candidates for a new generation of antibiotics after many years. It is extremely effective in low concentrations and very strong against pathogenic bacteria, even those resistant to treatment,” says the researcher.

The World Health Organization has warned that antibiotic resistance has become one of the biggest threats to public health. The excessive use of antibiotics has caused bacteria to adapt and develop immunity. This has the effect of increasing treatment costs, longer hospitalizations and increased mortality.

A recent study showed that in 2019, 1.2 million people died as a direct result of infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

“The problem is that there is not enough research for the development of new antibiotics by pharmaceutical companies. There is no more money to be made from antibiotics,” says Professor Tony Maxwell, who specializes in the study of bacteria.

“For things to get off the ground, governments need to intervene, as they did in the case of vaccine development. They must offer incentives or develop institutes specialized in the creation of antibiotics,” says Ghilarov.

Editor :
D.R.