(STUDY FINDS) — As antibiotic resistant pathogens continue to spread at an alarming rate across the globe, new research out of California offers up a surprising potential source of bacteria fighting power. Researchers have extracted a compound that exhibits powerful antibacterial properties from the skin mucus of farmed African catfish.
While further testing is necessary in order to confirm the compound is safe and effective for use as an antibiotic in the future, study authors speculate it may one day become a potent new tool against antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. For example, extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing E. coli.
“The global public health threat due to antimicrobial resistance necessitates the search for safe and effective new antibacterial compounds,” says Hedmon Okella, the study leader and postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis, in a media release. “In this case, fish-derived antimicrobial peptides present a promising source of potential leads.”
