Green tea compound may help fight 'superbugs': Study

A natural antioxidant commonly found in green tea may help eliminate antibiotic resistant bacteria or superbugs, according to a study.

The study, published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology, found that the antioxidant epigallocatechin (EGCG) can restore the activity of aztreonam, an antibiotic commonly used to treat infections caused by the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

P. aeruginosa is associated with serious respiratory tract and bloodstream infections and in recent years has become resistant to many major classes of antibiotics, according to the researchers from the University of Surrey in the UK.

Currently, a combination of antibiotics is used to fight P. aeruginosa.

However, these infections are becoming increasingly difficult to treat, as resistance to last line antibiotics is being observed, researchers said.

To assess the synergy of EGCG and aztreonam, the team conducted in-vitro tests to analyse how they interacted with the P. aeruginosa, individually and in combination.

The researchers found that the combination of aztreonam and EGCG was significantly more effective at reducing P. aeruginosa numbers than either agent alone.

This synergistic activity was also confirmed in vivo using Galleria mellonella (Greater Wax Moth larvae), with survival rates being significantly higher in those treated with the combination than those treated with EGCG or aztreonam alone.

Minimal to no toxicity was observed in human skin cells and in Galleria mellonella larvae.

Researchers believe that in P. aeruginosa, EGCG may facilitate increased uptake of aztreonam by increasing permeability in the bacteria.

Another potential mechanism is EGCG's interference with a biochemical pathway linked to antibiotic susceptibility.

"Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious threat to global public health. Without effective antibiotics, the success of medical treatments will be compromised," said Jonathan Betts, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Surrey.

"We urgently need to develop novel antibiotics in the fight against AMR. Natural products such as EGCG, used in combination with currently licensed antibiotics, may be a way of improving their effectiveness and clinically useful lifespan," Betts said.

The World Health Organization has listed antibiotic resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a critical threat to human health, said Professor Roberto La Ragione, from the University of Surrey.

"We have shown that we can successfully eliminate such threats with the use of natural products, in combination with antibiotics already in use" Ragione said.

"Further development of these alternatives to antibiotics may allow them to be used in clinical settings in the future," he said.