New anti-tuberculosis compound shows promise in fighting drug-resistant bacteria
Researchers have identified a compound that can fight all strains of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis.
in short
- Researchers have created a new compound from a plant that can fight tuberculosis
- This compound has been modified to make it as powerful as an anti-TB drug
- A substance called BPD-9 may also fight drug-resistant strains of TB bacteria
In the era of antimicrobial resistance, a new study has found a promising compound that may work against the bacteria that cause tuberculosis, including its drug-resistant strains.
This new compound has shown promising results against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis and the leading cause of bacterial disease-related deaths globally.
The study was conducted in collaboration with researchers from Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, China, and McGill University, Canada.
The researchers, who published their findings in the journal Microbiology Spectrum, said that as current tuberculosis treatments are outdated, require longer periods of time, and face the growing problem of antibiotic resistance, the discovery could lead to the development of more effective anti-tuberculosis drugs. Provides hope for development.
In the search for new antibiotics effective against tuberculosis, the research team discovered natural compounds that are known for their antimicrobial properties.
One such compound, sanguinarin, is derived from a flowering plant native to North America.
While sanguinarin has been used in alternative medicine, its toxicity has prevented it from being used as a treatment for humans.
To overcome this limitation, scientists modified sanguinarin using medicinal chemistry techniques, resulting in a safer and more potent compound called BPD-9.
In laboratory and animal tests, BPD-9 successfully killed strains of M. tuberculosis that are resistant to standard antibiotics.
Furthermore, the compound was effective against inactivated and intracellular tuberculosis bacteria, two major challenges in current TB treatments.
BPD-9 also demonstrated specificity, targeting only harmful bacteria within the same genus as M. tuberculosis, potentially sparing the body’s beneficial bacteria that are often affected by traditional antibiotics.
Dr. Jim Sun said, “Our discovery that the new compound is effective against other members of the Mycobacterium genus may also prove valuable in the fight against deadly lung infections caused by non-tuberculous mycobacteria, which are resistant to most antibiotics. Notorious for drugs.” Professor of Microbiology at the University of British Columbia and lead author of the study.
The researchers suggested that BPD-9 might kill Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a different way than existing anti-TB drugs.
