C. difficile (an Urgent Threat Bacteria Resistant to Antibiotics) Can Be Controlled with Oregano and Cinnamon

The average human digestive tract is home to as many as 1,000 species of microorganisms. Most of them are harmless — or even helpful — under normal circumstances. But when something upsets the balance of these organisms in your gut, otherwise harmless bacteria can grow out of control and make you sick. One of the worst offenders is a bacterium called Clostridium difficile(C. difficile, or C. diff). As the bacteria overgrow they release toxins that attack the lining of the intestines, causing a condition called Clostridium difficilecolitis.

C. difficile infection can range from mild to life-threatening. Symptoms  include watery diarrhea,  with abdominal pain or tenderness, and may include loss of appitite, fever, blood or puss in the stool, weight loss.

C. difficile is labeled as an Urgent Threat by the CDC becasue it is resistant to antibiotics.

Clostridium-difficile- urgent-baceterial-threat

Deaths related to C. difficile increased 400% between 2000 and 2007, in part because of a stronger strain.

Most infections are connected to receiving medical care.

Hand sanitizer does not kill C. difficile, and hand washing may not be sufficient.

 

There is research validating that essential oils are effective against this antibiotic resistant bacteria: Cinnamon and Oregano:

Carvacrol and trans-Cinnamaldehyde Reduce Clostridium difficile Toxin Production and Cytotoxicity in Vitro

Int J Mol Sci. 2014 Mar; 15(3): 4415–4430. 

Published online 2014 Mar 12. doi:  10.3390/ijms15034415

The effect of cinnamon – trans-cinnamaldehyde (TC) and oregano -carvacrol (CR) on a codY mutant and wild type C. difficile was also investigated. Carvacrol and TC substantially reduced C. difficile toxin production and cytotoxicity on Vero cells. The plant compounds also significantly down-regulated toxin production genes. Carvacrol and TC did not inhibit toxin production in the codY mutant of C. difficile, suggesting a potential codY-mediated anti-toxigenic mechanism of the plant compounds. The antitoxigenic concentrations of CR and TC did not inhibit the growth of beneficial gut bacteria. Our results suggest that CR and TC could potentially be used to control C. difficile, and warrant future studies in vivo.

C. difficile (an Urgent Threat Bacteria Resistant to Antibiotics) Can Be Controlled with Oregano and Cinnamon