Posted Wednesday 16 December 2009
In a series of tests conducted over three years, Professor Naughton and researchers from the School of Life Sciences learnt that the infection-fighting properties of pomegranate were greatly enhanced by combining the rind of the fruit with two other natural products - metal salts and Vitamin C. "We have developed a topical ointment that can successfully attack a range of drug resistant microbes," Professor Naughton said. "It's a significant breakthrough and a striking example of the effectiveness of adding more components to create a more active product."
Pomegranate rind combined with metal salts was the most effective combination for treating MRSA, while other common hospital infections were better dealt with by all three components: pomegranate rind, metal salts and Vitamin C. Professor Naughton said it was exciting to discover a new use for natural products. "It shows that nature still has a few tricks up its sleeve," he said.
Additional information:
The research findings have been recently been published.
"Anti-microbial pomegranate rind extracts: enhancement by Cu(II) and vitamin C combinations against clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa" by Simon W J Gould, Mark D Fielder, Alison F Kelly, Waffa El Sankary, Declan Naughton. British Journal of Biomedical Science. (2009) 66, 129-132. An abstract is available here.
"Anti-microbial activities of pomegranate rind extracts: enhancement by cupric sulphate against clinical isolates of S. aureus, MRSA and PVL positive CA-MSSA" by Simon W J Gould, Mark D Fielder, Alison F Kelly, Declan Naughton. BMC Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (2009) 9, 23. A link to the paper is available here.
The research was part-funded by a pharmaceutical company and by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
11 April 2024