Working Drug More Effective When swallowed with Sugar

There are some people who require sugar to help swallow the bitter medicine. And the researchers found that sugar not only helps swallow the drug, but also makes the work a drug such as antibiotics become more effective.

Researchers found that antibiotics are taken together with a spoonful of sugar can dramatically increase the effectiveness of stubborn infections like tuberculosis (TB).

Laboratory tests showed that glucose and fructose (a type of sugar found in plants) can stimulate the bacteria and make it more potent against the drug.

"If the old term 'spoonful of sugar make the medicine go down easier (easier to swallow) then the new term' spoonful of sugar makes the drug work '," explains Professor James Collins, of Boston University, as reported by the Telegraph.

According to Professor Collins, chronic and recurrent infections often occur when bacteria become metabolically active and deadly. For several weeks or months, the bacteria will come back to life, become stronger and more aggressive than before, thus making the disease the patient relapsed.

Germs are persistent (recurrent) different from the bacteria that develop resistance (immune) antibiotics through genetic mutations, but the persistent bacteria can cause many problems.

And scientists see new ways to cope with the persistent bacteria rose from hibernation by using a simple weapon, namely sugar.

Scientists found that the sugar acts as a stimulant that is active against bacteria and make the normal response of bacteria vulnerable to antibiotics.

The study was then performed by testing the bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli), which is a common cause of urinary tract infections.

The result, researchers were able to eliminate 99.9 percent of persister (persistent bacteria) in just two hours. Without sugar, the drugs used have no effect.

The study results are reported in the journal Nature also shows that the approach is as effective against persistent bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, which can produce serious infections.

"Our goal is to increase the effectiveness of existing antibiotics, rather than creating new ones, who must travel long and expensive process," said Kyle Allison, associate Professor Collins of Boston University who is first author of the study.

Sources:
health.detik.com