Antimicrobial resistance has become one of the biggest public health threats worldwide. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new drugs to fight infections.
A new study by scientists from the University of Portsmouth and Naresuan and Pibulsongkram Rajabhat universities in Thailand examined whether hydroquinine, found in the bark of some trees, can suppress any bacterial species. Hydroquinine is already known to be an effective treatment for malaria in humans, but little research has been done on its drug-resistant properties until now.
The results of the study, published in the journal Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, show that the antimicrobial properties of the organic compound make it a potential candidate for future clinical research.
Dr Robert Baldock from the University of Portsmouth School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences said:
“Using bactericidal experiments, we found that hydroquinine can kill many microorganisms, including the common multidrug-resistant pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa… Clearly, we also found that one of the main mechanisms used by these bacteria to evade the killing activity of the drug. increased during treatment, indicating a strong bacterial reaction”
Source: Ferra
