CAN CONFEDERATE REMEDIES SAVE THE WORLD ?

blockade prevented the importation of supplies, including quinine for treating malaria, the Confederate Army turned to a tradition of plant, which carefully outlined 37 plants that could serve as antiseptics. Fast forward more than 150 years and a team of medical researchers has tested three of Porcher’s suggested substitutes against a current threat: multi-drug-resistant bacterial strains linked to wound infections. In a paper, they reported positive results. The team tested extracts from parts of three trees—oak, tulip tree, and a tree with a thorny trunk known as devil’s walking stick. The oak extract had the strongest effect, working against both drug-resistant bacteria and biofilm. The extracts from tulip tree and devil’s walking proved potent against the biofilm. “As the global spread of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria continues,” the authors write, “it is increasingly important to consider all possible sources of new, and perhaps old, treatments.”