A team from the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Hannover Medical School and Saarland University Hospital has discovered an unexpected effect of a known natural compound. Argyrin B, produced by soil-dwelling myxobacteria, proved highly effective against Clostridioides difficile.
This bacterium can cause antibiotic-associated diarrhoea and frequently recurring infections, releasing toxins that can trigger severe intestinal inflammation. In the laboratory and in a mouse infection model, argyrin B significantly reduced the bacterial load.
The compound has very little effect on beneficial gut microbes and, when given orally, barely enters the bloodstream, remaining mainly in the large intestine, which could limit side effects. “The gut microbiome could thus be spared during treatment,” said researcher Jennifer Herrmann.
The results were published in the journal npj antimicrobials and resistance. The scientists now want to determine the ideal dose and test the compound against recurrent infections, which today can require faecal transplants.
