Could Amber Hold Key to Antibiotic Resistance?
Scientists hope fossilized tree resin could hold new bacteria-fighting compounds that will reduce our dependence on antibiotics.
Scientists have revealed they have successfully isolated compounds in the mineral amber that they believe could help to solve the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.
Speaking at the annual spring conference of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the University of Minnesota’s Elizabeth Ambrose and her graduate student Connor McDermott explained that this is the first research to systematically explore the therapeutic potential held by fossilized tree resin.
For the study, Ambrose and McDermott focused on amber from the Baltic Sea region, which contains the world’s largest deposit of the material originating from around 44 million years ago.
The amber oozed from the trunks of pines from the Sciadopityaceae family (now extinct) and was used by the trees as a natural defense against bacteria, fungi and herbivorous insects. It has also been commonly used in medicinal folklore in the Baltic region and is said to have analgesic, anti-infective, anti-fungal, wound healing, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties.
