FORGOTTEN Civil War-era ‘superbug killer’ making a comeback?
When you go into the hospital for some minor procedure… the sad truth is, you might NEVER come out alive.
Especially if you catch a bug that seems IMPOSSIBLE to treat.
But you’re not helpless in the fight against so-called “superbugs.”
Because all the way back during the American Civil War… when high rates of infection were taking down too many soldiers…
Military medics turned to traditional plant remedies to keep the troops alive.
MANY of those plant medicines have been FORGOTTEN.
Fortunately, there’s one that’s recently stepped BACK into the spotlight — and not just for its ability to heal wounds.
But also to CONQUER infection-causing bacteria that’s learned to resist antibiotics.
Here’s the herbal weapon against antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections that STARTED with battlefield physicians…
And that natural medicine is finally getting REACQUAINTED with.
A battlefield cure for MRSA
Today, we know it as the “devil’s walking stick” — Aralia spinosa, the spiny shrub that pricks you when you grab its stalks.
A member of the ginseng family, its densest populations occur along the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast of America… as well as in the forests of Appalachia.
It’s got the largest leaves of any American tree in the lower 48 states. And this time of year, the foliage turns vibrant – from yellow to bronze and red.
But as pretty as their fall colors are, the leaves are also what held the power to save some soldiers’ limbs… and maybe even some lives… when used topically.
In an NIH-funded study published last year in Scientific Reports, A. spinosa exhibited antimicrobial activity SPECIFICALLY against a superbug that’s been associated with wound infections.
I’m talking about Staphylococcus aureus.
That’s the most dangerous type of staph bacteria…
And it’s the culprit of MRSA infections, commonly acquired in hospitals and nursing homes.
It can start as a simple skin infection… perhaps in a surgical wound… and end up DEADLY.
The good news is that in a lab, this powerful leaf extract showed the ability to stop S. aureus in its tracks.
But not by killing the bacteria directly…
Instead, it inhibits 2 mechanisms CRITICAL to the survival of S. aureus:
- quorum sensing, a signaling process that causes the bugs to become more toxic, and
- biofilm formation, which can “shield” the bugs against antibiotics.
This two-fold action essentially DISARMS the bacteria’s offenses AND defenses!
The researchers aren’t yet sure WHY A. spinosa works… or which of its chemical constituents can claim responsibility for its victory over this horrific superbug.
But they’re not giving up studying it until they find out.
In the meantime, you won’t find Aralia spinosa on the shelves of the supplement aisle just yet.
But this shrub grows so abundantly… you’re sure to be able to find some leaves for foraging…
And someone well-versed in indigenous healing (particularly the Iroquois) or Appalachian folk medicine who knows how to use it.
To remembering our history with natural cures,
Melissa Young
P.S. For other ways to kick MRSA to the curb, try cold plasma… bacteriophages… and a shrub known in the American Southeast as the “toothache tree.”
