Fighting MRSA with A Pomegranate

I mentioned the power of pomegranates for your health about six weeks ago, and lo and behold no sooner do you mention one benefit than another rolls up behind it – just like buses. A team of scientists from Kingston University in South West London has discovered that the rind can be turned into an ointment for treating MRSA and other common hospital infections. MRSA is an important pathogen, an agent of a disease, that can cause infections in humans and is difficult to combat because it has developed a resistance to some antibiotics.

In a series of tests conducted over three years, Professor Naughton and researchers from the School of Life Sciences at Kingston have learnt that the infection-fighting properties of pomegranate were greatly enhanced by combining the rind of the fruit with two other natural products, metal salts and Vitamin C. “We have developed a topical ointment that can successfully attack a range of drug resistant microbes,” Professor Naughton said. “It’s a significant breakthrough and a striking example of the effectiveness of adding more components to create a more active product. The idea of using a foodstuff is unusual and means that the body should be able to cope more easily with its application; patients are less likely to experience any major side-effects”

I would add that it’s a significant breakthrough to see natural ingredients being used instead of chemical ones, so hurray for fruit power! The last word goes to Professor Naughton who said it was exciting to discover a new use for natural products. “It shows that nature still has a few tricks up its sleeve.” Amen to that.

BREAK OUT THE POMEGRANATES!

Every supermarket chiller has pomegranate juice as it is the new ‘superfood’ and studies have shown numerous health benefits ranging from protection against prostate cancer, slowing cartilage loss in arthritis, and potentially preventing Alzheimer’s. Although I personally don’t drink it as it doesn’t suit my ‘blood group’ type there is even more evidence that it can be good for you. According to the results of a new study done in China – where they seem to have cornered the market in anti-ageing as I presume they glug the stuff down while doing their early morning tai chi – pomegranate juice is more effective than apple juice in boosting the body’s antioxidant defences, which decline naturally with age.

They gave their research subjects (average age 63) a 250ml glass of pomegranate juiced every day for a month and found that the anti-oxidant capacity of their blood was increased by almost 10% while a control group, who drank apple juice, showed negligible changes.