MUT researchers find SouthAfrican plant species could hold key to the discovery of novel antibiotics against the drug-resistant P. aeruginosa bacteria ~ health medicine
In its 2017 response to the scourge of drug-resistant pathogenic infections, the World Health Organisation identified a list of pathogens that it described as critical, high and medium priority in terms of the urgency of the need for novel antibiotics.
“P. aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that commonly infects individuals who are immune compromised, particularly those infected with the human immunodeficiency virus and/or those suffering from cancer. It is a common etiological agent of hospital-acquired pneumonia, urinary tract infections and bacteremia,” explains the study.
In its review of ethnobotanical studies relating to the pathogen, the study found that only 31 were published over two decades and none of these studies was dedicated solely to P. aeruginosa. Another startling finding was that none of the studies on the pathogen was published in the first three years after the WHO classified it as a critical research priority.
In terms of phytochemical analysis, the study singled out a study which identified and isolated a compound called plumbagin from the leaves of Asteraceae.
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