A spoonful of sugar helps the… INFECTION go down?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science saying…ah-CHOO!
Colds are the WORST! That cruddy, fatigued, phlegmy feeling! But for people with cystic fibrosis, it never ends. This hereditary disease coats the body’s glands in mucus, causing lung infections and sometimes death.
Antibiotics and risky transplants are the only available treatments, but neither usually stop the infection. Is there another way?
Meet Rowena Jenkins and Aled Roberts at Swansea University. They thought outside the box… the honey bee box, that is!
They followed rumors of an antibacterial honey made from the manuka tree. This special tree grows only in Australia and New Zealand – and bees love it! Delicious manuka honey is a popular home remedy around the globe.
Researchers directly applied it to infected pig lung tissues that simulated cystic fibrosis.
And? This sweet South Pacific treat not only killed the bacteria, it outperformed current antibiotics like ciprofloxacin!
Clinical trials are currently underway. Hopefully, cystic fibrosis won’t stand a chance!
Who knew medicine could taste so delicious…on toast!