Reports state that we live in a world where the global antibiotics consumption rate has increased by 46 percent in the last twenty years. It is well known that antibiotics are potent medications that help fight bacterial infections by either killing the bacteria or by making it difficult for the bacteria to increase in number. Although antibiotics are useful in treating and managing bacterial infections, they do have harmful side-effects (nausea, diarrhea, bloating, rashes, indigestion, etc.).
As per various studies, the most concerning side-effect is that, along with killing the harmful bacteria, which cause infections, antibiotics end up killing the beneficial bacteria in our gut, which help in digestion and maintaining our overall health. There has been considerable evidence about how the number and diversity of good or beneficial bacteria in our gut contribute to a healthy gut, and how our external environment and our diet, right from infancy, constantly affect our gut health. It is crucial to maintain a healthy gut as, according to studies, it can affect our mental health, digestion, immune system, and longevity.
Scientists are constantly trying to come up with ways to manage these side-effects of antibiotics. One such attempt was brought to light at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Copenhagen, Denmark (April 15-18) this year.
The research was carried out by Dr. Lisa Maier, Dr. Camille V. Goemans and team. They analyzed the impact of 144 antibiotics on the growth and survival of 27 different species of bacteria that are commonly found in our gut. They measured the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC)— the minimum antibiotic concentration that is necessary to halt bacterial growth— for more than 800 of the antibiotic-bacteria combinations of their study.
The results revealed the existence of a slightly higher MIC for the majority of the beneficial gut bacteria than the harmful bacteria, indicating that at a common concentration, most of the tested healthy gut bacteria have the chance to survive. However, the study also revealed that two types of antibiotics (tetracyclines and macrolides) were capable of having long-term effects on the gut microbiome as they eliminated more than half of the tested gut bacteria— with a lower MIC for healthy gut bacteria than harmful bacteria.
The researchers experimented with 1,197 pharmaceuticals to identify antidote compounds that could shield two abundant gut bacterial species (Bacteriodes vulgatus and Bacteriodes uniformis) from antibiotics. The results indicated that not only did these antidote compounds not compromise the antibiotics’ effectiveness against harmful bacteria, but they also safeguarded bacteria isolated from human stool and in living mice.
Few of the several promising drugs identified by the researchers include—dicumarol (anticoagulant), benzbromarone (gout medication), and anti-inflammatory drugs (diflunisal and tolfenamic acid).
Along with believing this to be a novel approach that combine an antibiotic with a protective antidote compound that retains gut health and reduces harmful side-effects without affecting the efficiency of the antibiotic, experts also think that though the results are promising, further research is required to identify appropriate and personalized antibiotic-antidote combinations to eliminate any probable long-term effects on gut health.
