“Aboriginal people in Canada have long used maple syrup to fight infections”, explains Professor Nathalie Tufenkji, from McGill University in Quebec (Canada). “I have always been interested in the scientific value of these popular drugs.”
This is how she surrounded herself with a team of researchers to investigate the antimicrobial action of maple syrup extract and to examine the effects of a natural extract of maple syrup. maple on the therapeutic action of antibiotics.
Up to 97% less antibiotics
This study presented at the American Chemical Society’s Annual Meeting & Exposition in San Francisco, California suggests that the phenolic compounds in maple syrup (those that give it its golden color) could significantly improve the action of antibiotics, without increasing their side effects.
Researchers tested a combination of maple syrup extract and commonly prescribed antibiotics (ciprofloxacin and carbenicillin).
They found that the two substances created a synergistic, destructive effect on biofilms (the thin layers of bacteria that are often drug resistant, and found in severe bacterial infections). This synergistic effect has allowed researchers to obtain the same antimicrobial effect using up to 97% less antibiotics.
This increase in antibiotic potency has been noted against clinical strains of Escherichia coli(responsible urinary tract infections, gastrointestinal problems or respiratory diseases), Proteus mirabilis (which is also implicated in many urinary tract infections) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (which affects hospital patients and people with weakened immune systems).
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