Can cranberries deal with the antibiotic resistance crisis?

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have identified antibiotic resistance as a "global public health problem".

The overuse of antibiotics in humans and in animals has led to the emergence of drug-resistant "superbugs". Overcrowding, global migration and poor sanitation are just some of the reasons for the worsening problem of drug resistance.

Some researchers have even hinted that "we are about to return to a pre-antibiotic era in which minor infections can become life-threatening again." In this context, scientists have tried to come up with innovative solutions and sometimes unconventional solutions, turning to insects or even slimy fish for compounds that could be deadly to superbugs.

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Now, researchers from McGill University in Quebec, in collaboration with the National Institute of Scientific Research (INRS) in Montreal – both located in Canada – have decided to explore the potential of cranberries to fight infections.

Nathalie Tufenkji, a professor of chemical engineering at McGill, is the lead author of the study. Professor Tufenkji and his colleagues have discovered that a cranberry extract can make bacteria more susceptible to antibiotics. The authors published their findings in the journal Advanced Science.

The widespread belief that cranberry juice helps treat urinary tract infections prompted Professor Tufenkji and his team to study cranberries. Scientists have therefore chosen for their study the bacteria responsible for urinary tract infections, pneumonia and gastroenteritis, including Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli.

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They applied cranberry extract to bacterial cultures and found that cranberry molecules made the cultures more susceptible to antibiotics in two ways. First, the cranberry extract has made the membranes of the bacteria more permeable to the antibiotic. Second, the cranberry extract has disrupted the mechanism generally used by bacteria to eliminate the antibiotic. "Normally, when we treat the bacteria with an antibiotic in the laboratory, the bacteria eventually acquire resistance over time," reports Professor Tufenkji.

"But when we simultaneously treated the bacteria with an antibiotic and cranberry extract, no resistance developed. We were very surprised by this and we see this as an important opportunity. "The double action of cranberry extract has made it effective even at lower doses. After discovering these mechanisms in cell cultures, scientists have reproduced their findings in an insect model.

"These are really exciting results," says co-author of the study, Éric Déziel, professor of microbiology at INRS: "The activity is generated by molecules called proanthocyanidins. There are several types of proanthocyanidins, which can work together to achieve this result. "

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"We will have to do more research to determine which ones are the most active in synergy with the antibiotic," adds Professor Déziel.

Professor Tufenkji echoed the same idea: "We look forward to continuing this research. Our hope is to reduce the doses of antibiotics needed in human and veterinary medicine as part of the fight against antibiotic resistance. "