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Berries of all kinds are a delicious and healthy part of any diet. Now, researchers in Finland have shown that these fruits are more than just a tasty treat. A spray made of berry extract has been found to ward off pathogenic bacteria in wounds.
A growing health challenge
According to a press release from VIT Research in Finland, antibiotic resistant bacteria are one of the ten greatest world health challenges of our time. This type of bacteria can cause wound infections that are very difficult to treat.
But now a solution may have been found. VTT Research found a way to harness the antimicrobial properties of berries to make a spray that kills pathogenic bacteria without harming the useful microbes that live on the human skin. This could ward off those very dangerous wound antibiotic resistant infections, and make it possible to use fewer antibiotics while treating a patient.
“The product could easily be used in hospitals as, say, a liquid to spray on the skin before surgery,” Panu Lahtinen, Senior Scientist, and Kirsi-Marja Oksman-Caldentey, Associate Professor and Senior Advisor at VTT said in the press release,.
Seeds and berries
According to Good News Finland, VTT has been researching the antimicrobial properties of berries for over two decades. While the data has not yet been published, the researchers found that wild berry seeds of all kinds — from sea buckthorn, to raspberries, bilberries, cloudberries, and lingonberries — are naturally coated with antimicrobial compounds. This helps prevent the growth of molds or other diseases before the fruit can germinate.
“Our research has identified antimicrobial compounds in several wild berries, including sea buckthorn, bilberry, strawberry, cloudberry, lingonberry and raspberry,” Kirsi-Marja Oksman-Caldentey, associate professor and senior adviser at VTT told Good News Finland.
The researchers began looking at ways in which they could use those berry properties medicinally according to Forest News. They developed a way to extract the useful compounds from berry cakes, a byproduct of juice making that contains berry seeds and skins. A nanocellulose film that is compatible with human skin is impregnated with the berry compound extracted from the berry cake. This makes their spray entirely bio-based.
What is remarkable is that VTT found a way to use the power of their local natural surroundings — wild raspberries grow abundantly in Finland— to help humanity, all while also partaking in a circular economy by using organic matter that would otherwise be considered a waste product.
As the threat of antibiotic resistant bacteria grows, it is good to know that the solution may be something so simple as a berry.
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