B.C. scientists find wildflower fights drug-resistant tuberculosis – Coast Reporter

Oct. 9, 2024

Tuberculosis kills more than a million people a year, and without new antibiotics, experts say drug resistance could drive that number even higher.

B.C. researchers have distilled two compounds from a native North American wildflower that could act as a powerful tool to combat drug-resistant tuberculosis.

The discovery of the healing powers of the bloodroot plant, published in the journal Microbiology Spectrum last week, comes at a time tuberculosis remains the second deadliest infectious disease after COVID-19 — killing 1.3 million people in 2022, according to the World Health Organization.

Tuberculosis rates have persisted for decades, if not hundreds of years, said Jim Sun, an assistant professor in the UBC department of microbiology and immunology, and the study’s senior author.

Read More: https://www.coastreporter.net/bc-news/bc-scientists-find-wildflower-fights-drug-resistant-tuberculosis-9631906