A centuries-old Chinese herbal medicine could help humans fight tuberculosis, also known as TB, a study revealed.
WebMD defines TB as is a bacterial infection that can spread through the lymph nodes and bloodstream to any organ in your body. However, it most often found in the lungs. If left untreated, it could be fatal to those infected.
Anyone can have TB, but those with weaker immune systems and those who are recently infected with TB bacteria are most at risk.
Science Alert reported that after screening 540,000 different compounds, a new research found out that the molecule called artemisinin, which comes from a form of wormwood known as Artemisia annua, could also help us to control the bacteria that causes TB or the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb).
The research paper notes that Mtb can become dormant and remain inactive for decades in the body. But once the immune system weakens at some point, Mtb can wake back up and spread. Artemisinin stops the ability of the Mtb to switch to the "dormant stage."
"When TB bacteria are dormant, they become highly tolerant to antibiotics," Michigan State University researcher Robert Abramovitch, an assistant professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine and lead author of the paper explained in a press release. "Blocking dormancy makes the TB bacteria more sensitive to these drugs and could shorten treatment times."
The artemisinin attacks a molecule called heme, which is found in the Mtb oxygen sensor. By disrupting this sensor, Mtb, which greatly depends on oxygen will starve.
"When the Mtb is starved of oxygen, it goes into a dormant state, which protects it from the stress of low-oxygen environments," Abramovitch said. "If Mtb can't sense low oxygen, then it can't become dormant and will die."
Artemisinin has previously dramatically reduced the number of deaths from malaria around the world. Now, it could do the same for people with TB.
"Two billion people worldwide are infected with Mtb," Abramovitch said. "TB is a global problem that requires new tools to slow its spread and overcome drug resistance. This new method of targeting dormant bacteria is exciting because it shows us a new way to kill it.
The study was published recently in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.