A group of scientists has discovered a way to prevent and treat one of the most widespread bacterial pathogens, with the use of a novel, antibiotic-free nanocapsule that is made from natural ingredients.
The dangerous bacteria
Helicobacter pylori or H. pylori is a bacterial pathogen that is spread by and carried around by more than 4 billion people worldwide without them knowing. The highest prevalence is in Latin America, Africa, and the Caribbean.
How bacteria affect our health
Even though the infection does not show any symptoms, if it is not treated, H. pylori pathogen can cause chronic inflammation of the stomach lining, ulcer, and it is also linked with an increased risk of gastric cancer.
The World Health Organization (WHO) included H. pylori in their 2017 list of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. The organization has a catalog of bacteria that pose great threats to human health and those that need to be treated immediately.
The current treatments for pathogens involve multi-target therapy combined with antibiotics, but this has emerged resistant strains.
Now, scientists from Germany and the UK have discovered a novel antibiotic-free way by using food and pharmaceutical-grade ingredients, which are safe for consumption and non-toxic. These antibiotic-free nanocapsules can be used as a supplement to match the current antibiotic therapies.
The formulation is produced through billions of nanocapsules that are bundled together, and they are smaller than a human blood cell. They prevent bacteria from attaching to and infecting the stomach cells of those who are infected by the pathogen.
Researchers from the universities of Munster, Leeds, and Erlangen hope that the nanocapsules could be used as a way to prevent widespread of the dangerous pathogen and a way to help eradicate the pathogen and reduce the antibiotic-resistant strains.
Professor Francisco Goycoolea, the co-author of the study from the School of Food Science and Nutrition at Leeds, stated that antimicrobial resistance is one of the challenges that we are facing, and it is predicted to cause more deaths than cancer once it reaches its peak by the year 2050 unless immediate action is taken.
H. pylori is a pathogen that is now spreading worldwide. Around 70% of people host this pathogen, and they don't even know it. The bacteria hide under the gastric mucus layer, where available antibiotics do not penetrate. This leads to infections, and it also gives rise to resistant strains.
The nanocapsules that were made by the scientists are loaded with a natural compound that is found in turmeric called curcumin, and it is considered as anti-inflammatory and has an anti-tumor property.
The nanocapsules are coated with an enzyme called lysozyme, which helps prevent bacterial infection, and a low concentration of dextran sulfate, which is a water-soluble polysaccharide that binds receptors in the bacteria and in the mucosal layer that coats the stomach.
