Vitamin C can kill multidrug-resistant TB in the lab, scientists at the Yeshiva University have announced in the journal, Nature Communications.
In the laboratory studies, vitamin C appeared to trigger the production of free radicals which killed off the TB bacteria – including drug-resistant.
This raises the hope that a treatment could be developed that works in the same manner to tackle TB in humans, though there is a long way to go:
“While the findings of this study appear promising, further research to confirm the observations would be essential before Vitamin C can be used to supplement TB treatment.”
Dr Ibrahim Abubakar, Head of TB at Public Health England
“We have only been able to demonstrate this in a test tube, and we don’t know if it will work in humans and in animals… we [do] know vitamin C is inexpensive, widely available and very safe to use. At the very least, this work shows us a new mechanism that we can exploit to attack TB.”
Dr William Jacobs, study leader and Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Yeshiva University
Read the full article on BBC news
Access the original article in Nature Communications
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