Cranberry juice could stop MRSA infection, say researchers
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Cranberry juice is a powerful infection fighter – and it might even be able to combat MRSA, the killer bug found in hospitals and nursing homes.
It is already successfully used in cases of E.coli and urinary tract infections, but one clinical trial suggests that it could even fight staph infections, including MRSA.
Its MRSA-fighting qualities were discovered when a group of women were given either cranberry juice or a placebo look-alike to drink. Their urine was then mixed with strains of E.coli and S.aureus, which causes a range of staph infections from skin rashes to serious diseases such as MRSA. The cranberry juice stopped both strains from developing, and it was especially effective against the S.aureus strain.
(Source: Proceedings of the American Chemical Society annual meeting, Boston, August 23).