Cranberries Identified As Potential Treatment For Bacterial Infections

Overview

• Post By : Kumar Jeetendra


• Source: Worcester Polytechnic Institute


• Date: 20 Jul,2016

Researcher from Worcester Polytechnic Institute identified chemical compound present in juices of Cranberries may block bacterial infections through its anti bacterial biofilm forming activities.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at least 2 million Americans are infected each year with drug-resistant bacteria, while some 23,000 die from those infections. And the concern may play an important role in reducing bacterial infections which in turn new hope for development of type of new antibiotics in future.Researchers suggests a chemical compound present in Cranberries named, flavanols play an important role in reducing the ability of biofilm forming of bacteria through which they causes most of infections.

"With the emergence of new superbugs that are resistant to current antibiotics, our hope is to better understand the mechanisms of bacterial infection so we can identify potential new antibiotic drug targets," Camesano said.

This study is the first to combine an assay-guided fractionation approach with atomic force microscopy to identify cranberry juice constituents that most strongly influence E.coli adhesion forces," the authors wrote.The concern research study recently published in The Royal Society of Chemistry journal Food & Function.entitle “Atomic force microscopy-guided fractionation reveals the influence of cranberry phytochemicals on adhesion of Escherichia coli".

Story source: Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Journal References:

Prachi Gupta, Biqin Song, Catherine Neto, Terri A. Camesano. Atomic force microscopy-guided fractionation reveals the influence of cranberry phytochemicals on adhesion of Escherichia coli. Food Funct., 2016; 7 (6): 2655 DOI: 10.1039/C6FO00109B