THE super bacteria Antibiotic resistance is a growing health problem worldwide. Globally, nearly five million people die every year from resistant infections to antimicrobials, with the result that, without immediate effective measures, rates of antimicrobial resistance could still grow exponentially in the coming decades.
So what do you think about? Not to reduce or completely eliminate causes such as some agricultural practices and intensive farming (we will see why later), but to take blood from oysters. More precisely thehemolymph which in arthropods (spiders, crustaceans, insects), is a fluid tissue that performs functions similar to those of the blood and lymph of vertebrates.
That’s right, or at least that’s what the researchers came up with Southern Cross Universityy, in Australia, who discovered how the proteins present in oyster hemolymph have properties capable of kill bacteria.
The study
The research, published on PlosOne, started from the assumption that the oysters are normally exposed to high concentrations of different microorganisms in their natural environment, which is why they have strong immune defenses. For example, they rely on antimicrobial proteins and strings of molecules, peptides, in the blood to protect against infections.
Research over the past few decades has found that oyster hemolymph contains antiviral proteins and peptides antibacterialactive against a series of human and marine pathogens.
In fact, not everyone knows that oysters, like other molluscs, have a long history of use in traditional medicine to treat infectious diseases. Traditional Chinese medicine, for example, recommends various oyster preparations to treat the symptoms of respiratory infections and inflammatory conditions.
And now, this latest research confirms that antimicrobial proteins in the haemolymph of Sydney oysters (Saccostrea glomerata) are particularly effective at killing the bacteria Streptococcus spp.
We therefore refer to the most classic of customs: that of exploiting other living beings to make up for our sins. Which takes on an even more tragic sense if we also analyze the way in which the Australian researchers arrived at their conclusions: according to what we read on PlosOne, the Sydney oysters were purchased alive, then shelled and the pericardial region was immediately punctured using a syringe.
Hemolymph was collected from multiple oysters (average 16 individuals per pool), combined in 5 ml tanks that were kept on ice, and filtered at 0.2 μM to obtain cell-free hemolymph. Samples were frozen at −80°C and lyophilized for 24 hours (Christ Alpha 1–4 LD plus, at −55°C and vacuum sealed at 0.35 mbar). The freeze-dried powder in each pool was resolubilized to then obtain a hemolymph 5 times more concentrated than the original organism.
A long, complicated and in many respects also expensive process. Did we really need it? Is this how antibiotic resistance is fought? Not exactly.
What to do against super bacteria
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the ability of microorganisms to resist antimicrobial treatments. Incorrect use orAbuse of antibiotics are considered the causes of the growth and of spread of resistant microorganisms to their action, with consequent loss of effectiveness of therapies and serious risks for public health.
Much of the responsibility for this situation throughout the world lies with some agricultural practices and intensive farming.
The use of antibiotics to treat plant diseases has been approved in many countries and while some have regulated to keep their use limited, in others the amount of antimicrobials used to combat plant parasites is still large.
Concern grows further when considering the intersection of climate change and plant diseases, as the increased need for antibiotics could make such agents less effective against bacteria. The concomitant use of herbicides and antibiotics could then accelerate the development of resistance.
Finally, it must be considered that grpart of the antibiotics ingested, both by humans and animals (about 80% in the latter case), it enters sewer systems, soil, waterways or manure. These compounds can increase resistance, further contributing to the spread of the problem.
