Yellow Alder may Help Fight MRSA

New laboratory evidence suggests that yellow alder (Turnera ulmifolia) extract may enhance the effects of antibiotics in the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). MRSA is a type of bacteria that does not respond to treatment with certain antibiotics, including ampicillin (Principen®) and other penicillins.

Researchers tested the effects of an extract made from the Brazilian herb yellow alder, alone and in combination with antibiotics, against MRSA. They found that the herb alone did not have significant antimicrobial activity. However, when combined with other antibiotics (kanamycin and gentamicin), the anti-MRSA effects were significantly improved. 

“Extracts from Turnera ulmifolia could be used as a source of plant-derived natural products with resistance-modifying activity, constituting a new weapon against the problem of bacterial resistance to antibiotics demonstrated in MRSA strains,” The authors concluded in the journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Although these early results are promising, additional research in humans is needed to determine if this is a safe and effective therapy.

Traditionally, yellow alder has been used an anti-inflammatory and expectorant, although human evidence is limited.

Preliminary lab studies published earlier this year suggest that compounds in marijuana and honey may also have antibacterial effects against MRSA infections. However, more research is needed in humans before conclusions can be made.

MRSA is a serious medical condition that requires medical treatment. Integrative therapies should not replace or delay treatment with more proven techniques or therapies.

For more information about MRSA, please visit Natural Standard’s Medical Conditions database.

Comments

[Dan D. Lyons]

Okay, so when yellow alder is combined with potent antibiotics (with multiple side effects), it exhibited “improved” anti-MRSA activity. What does this mean for clinical practice? Nothing. Improved activity against MRSA does not mean true efficacy against the bacteria. Instead, if it is only partially effective, it can only help to breed further antibiotic resistance if used. I can totally see the next Oprah episode already; with a quack doctor preaching about how he just used yellow alder to treat MRSA and having millions of people attempt to do the same. Great.

[Estelle Hertz]

Excuse me Dan, but I consider myself an educated consumer, and I watch Oprah and agree with many of the guests she has on. I think if I ever have a MRSA infection, I will try to find some yellow alder supplements to take with my antibiotics. Does anyone know what cultures typically use this plant?

[Tom]

Estelle, I did a little digging on PubMed and found that yellow alder is used in Brazil (and perhaps in other South American cultures) as an anti-inflammatory agent. There was a study published in 2006 by Brazilian researchers who noted that this might be due to the levels of antioxidant compounds in this plant. Apparently, the plant is commonly found in rain forests and fields, and Brazilians also use its extracts to treat stomach ailments and ulcers.

[Adam Zapell]

Does anybody know about what toxicities exist in human or animal studies with this extract? Sounds like yellow alder works in a similar manner like a beta-lactamase inhibitor; boosting the effects of amoxicillin via a different mechanism of action. Does anybody know why they teamed it up with kanamycin and gentamicin, and was it given orally or IV? Does it only boost the effect of gram-negative bacteria coverage? Lastly, and maybe it’s me, but have you ever noticed that preliminary lab studies published always suggest that marijuana, or some other illegal thing, may have some medical benefit? I think I speak for everyone when I say, “Hippy scientists give up!! Marijuana will always be illegal in the U.S., it has ZERO medical benefit, move on.”

[Wanda Rinn]

Estella, do you believe everything the talking box tells you? Oprah and most of her famous guests are not real doctors, but they do play them on TV. What makes you think that a movie star or other famous person knows more than a REAL doctor or pharmacist, who saves lives? What studies did she say supported her belief? Also, they have the money to waste on things that probably don’t work. The actors/talk show hosts/famous people in general rely on their looks/charm to get them through life, and how many went to college and got a REAL advance degree? A good sales person could sell them dog feces as a new anti-aging agent AND THEY would probably buy it. Would you? Don’t buy into the propaganda, please.

Estella, do your own research. Go to reputable databases like Natural standard, then take that information and talk with your doctor or pharmacist, and they can help clarify anything that you don’t understand. THINK FOR YOURSELF!! Don’t believe Hollywood!

[Mary Gold]

Adam, how can you generalize all the scientists that research marijuana like that? Let's keep the discussion scientific instead of accusatory. And I don’t think it is ever a good idea to limit scientific research, be it with legal or illegal substances. As long as the research is done ethically, why limit knowledge? Also, I am not sure by which mechanism yellow alder helps fight MRSA, but I do agree with you on your point that it might exhibit side effects similar to a beta-lactamase inhibitor. I am eagerly awaiting the drug monograph from Natural Standard!

[Sean Appleby]

Anything that may be of some assistance in the fight against a MRSA infection is much appreciated. Bacteria continue to evolve based on natural selection, yielding bacteria more and more resistance to usually antibiotic regimens. The fight against these strains is a difficult one, and it is a life-threatening condition. Unfortunately, humans as a species have slowed our evolution, leaving our biological defenses to gradually become obsolete.

One question from the study would be the testing of yellow alder alone and in combination with aminoglycosides. Of course the herb is going to have boosted anti-MRSA properties when combined with aminoglycoside; the better experiment would involve aminoglycosides by themselves and in combination with the yellow alder to see how much more effective they could be at combating MRSA.

[Kara]

Thanks for being the voice of reason, Sean. I hate to see good blog sites that offer important information degenerate into rants about unimportant subjects. From a nursing perspective and from someone who has watched MRSA develop into a truly horrific problem, I think we should all welcome the fact that there are scientists out there trying to find a better way to treat this organism and stop the damage that it does. And a natural substance that potentiates the effects of antibiotics could open up a whole new avenue of therapeutics.

[Vera]

I would have to agree with both Sean and Kara. Every day there is more and more resistance to various antibiotics, so research addressing potential solutions to resistance is greatly appreciated.

I briefly looked over the study and the antibiotics involved were gentamicin, tobramycin, kanamycin, amikacin and neomycin. The ethanolic extract of yellow alder (Turnera ulmifolia) 32 μg/ml decreased the MIC of only two agents, gentamicin and kanamycin.

It was also interesting to see that Chlorpromazine (16 μg/ml) had a similar effect on the MIC of gentamicin and kanamycin. As the researchers mention, the yellow alder may act in similar synergistic manner as chlorpromazine.

Hope this provides some more insight!

[Lafonda]

It is exciting to see research into combining “western” medicine with natural products. However, it is very important to keep in mind that these findings are extremely preliminary. This study looked at the affects of various combinations on MRSA in Petri dishes, which is very different than observing the effects in people. It is also important to remember that resistance patterns of bacteria differ between geographic regions and even between hospitals in the same city. This study does give some preliminary data, which will hopefully open the door for more research into the effects of yellow alder on antibacterial therapy against Methacillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus.

[Raymond]

I agree with Lafonda that this study is looking at the herb's effect in the laboratory, which may have a different effect on humans. This means that what's good in the laboratory does not always turn out to benefit humans. Also, the author mentioned that this is the first study to look at the effect of this herb on MRSA. However, this is a beginning to look more at yellow alder, as it may have benefit on the art of human healing.

[Summer]

It would be interesting to see how yellow alder works in the human body. A human study evaluating yellow alder's effect on MRSA as the sole agent would be unethical, but maybe there will be a study that assesses its use as a combination agent (may be with one of the antibiotics whose MIC decreased?) in human patients. Going along with the other agents that are suggested to have antibacterial effects against MRSA, maybe a study involving yellow alder, honey and marijuana could be conducted. This study's results are most definitely preliminary, but also insightful in terms of using natural agents in combination with modern-day medicine.

[Pharmacy School Applicant Database]

It's about time we saw some progress killing this nasty bug.

[Nikky]

Yellow alder may have a beneficial effect on the antibiotic through a unique mechanism of action. This news is really great to hear, as some people would prefer to have complementary/alternative medicines as their choice of healing. More human studies are definitely needed to confirm this benefit of yellow alder in the treatment of MRSA.

[ariel]

The proposed synergistic effects of yellow alder with antibiotics versus MRSA as set forth in the report by Natural Standard offer important and relevant potential options for treatment of a life-threatening infection. Any adjunct therapies that may enhance the efficacy of antibiotic activity versus MRSA warrant further exploration.

[Tom]

MRSA is a growing concern for many hospitals since drug therapy for MRSA is limited and resistance is on the rise. I found this article to be very interesting and thought it was a great finding that can potentially improve treatment options for MRSA. I hope there will be a human clinical study that will further explore the efficacy and safety that can be applied to the clinical setting.

[Natasha]

I have learned that MRSA infections are quite difficult to treat because few antibiotics can successfully kill the bacterium. This is a great breakthrough in the treatment of MRSA infections. However, I would wait for the results of human studies in this novel approach. It would be best not to breed more resistance if the mechanism of this integrative type of treatment is still under study. Also, I wonder if there are any interactions between this herb, yellow alder, and any antibiotics.

[Dr. Oz]

This is an amazing find, considering that we’re losing the war in the microbial world. The overuse of antibiotics in hospitals and doctor offices has caused super bugs that are resistant to most antibiotics. There are only a few “big gun” antibiotics, and they are only reserved for bugs like MRSA and VRE. Research like this are needed to help find other effective ways to treat infections. The more agents that we know that has activity against MRSA, the better therapeutic treatments we can develop.

[Linda Allen]

MRSA Staph infections have been getting so much worse over the last 10 years or so. Antibiotics that were treating MRSA staph infection successfully are no longer working, as the super-bug has evolved itself into a stronger infection. I believe that this problem is going to get much worse in the future, and we will be hearing more about this.