Every year, approximately 70 million prescriptions that is one in every six — are written out for antibiotics. The proliferate use of antibiotics as a cure-all handed out by overworked GPs and hospital doctors has led to the rapid decline in their efficacy to ward off infections simply because more and more strains of bacteria are becoming resistant to them. In UK hospitals there are already superbugs which are resistant to virtually all known antibiotics. One strain, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus has been causing mini-epidemics across the country and only responds to one antibiotic, vancomycin. But, even this, the experts predict, will become resistant to it. According to Dr Peter Lambert, micro-biologist at Birmingham’s As ton University eventually organisms will emerge which are totally resistant (to existing antibiotics)’.
Each time you take a course of antibiotics for an infection, some bacteria may survive if, for instance the course has not been completed, and they then mutate and become stronger. This means that if you pass on an infection to another per-son, it is more likely to be resistant to the original antibiotic.
A study in Iceland of children under the age of seven found that there was a strong correlation between the level of antibiotics prescribed and antibiotic-resistant pneumocci.
Side effects of antibiotics
Not only are antibiotics becoming less effective against many infectious diseases, but their overuse may also be responsible for some modern diseases including Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, cystitis, thrush, Chronic fatigue syndrome and arthritis. The latest report in the British medical Journal found that the widespread, uncontrolled use of antibiotics such as streptomycin and gentamicin is responsible for loss of hearing in children in the third world. The situation is so serious that specialists are calling for the banning of the sale of these medicines (2).
Efficacy
Echinacea has long been acknowledged as an effective herbal remedy to help the body’s immune system at times of infection by killing bacteria and disabling viruses. We have now received reports of a further herbal extract which has also been shown to have strong anti-bacterial and anti viral activity Oleuropein, a bitter glucoside found in the leaves of the green olive tree.
Studies have shown that olive leaf extract is effective in delaying the growth of Staphylococcus aureus (3) and Bacillus cereus (4). However a recent study involving over 500 patients conducted at the ‘R’ Clinic of Budapest in Hungary has found that it was extremely effective in treating a wide variety of infections and illnesses. In an uncontrolled trial by Dr Robert Lyons O.M.D., M.S., Eden extract (6) which contains extract from olive leaves resulted in 115 out of 119 patients with respiratory tract infections fully recovering. 60 out of 67 patients with dental infections (pulpitis, leukoplakia, stoma-titis), 120 out of 172 patients with viral skin conditions (e.g. herpes) and 30 out of 37 patients with skin infections (e.g. pyoderma and injuries). Furthermore, although not all of the patients fully recovered after taking the extract, none of them reported that they had not improved as a result of the treatment.
The report concluded that the rate of improvement and recovery from all bacterial and viral infections was approximately 98 per cent, and for all patients involved in the study, the body’s immune system was found to be strengthened. No patients experienced any adverse side effects.
Further in vitro studies have found that olive leaf extract is effective against over 50 common disease causing organisms including viruses, bacteria, fungi and protozoa such as herpes, influenza A, Polio 1, 2, and 3; Salmonella typhimurium, Candida Krusei and Cox-sackie A 21.6) 7) 6) 6)
(1) BMJ 1996;313,897-91
(2) BMJ 1996;313,648
(3) H.S. Tranter, Soula C, Tassou, G.L. Nychas. The effect of the olive phenolic compound oleuropein on growth and enterotoxin B production by Staphvococcus aureus. Journal of Applied Bacteri-ology 1993. 74. 253-259.
(4) Chrvsoula c Tassou, G.J.E. Nychas, R.G. Board. Effect of Phenolic Compounds and Oleuropein on the germination of Bacillus cereus spoes. Biotech-nologv andApplied Biochemistry (1991) 13,231-237.
(5) Lyons R. The use of Eden’ extract against patho-logical organisms — viruses, bacteria and fungi. Explore 1996, 4.
(6) Renis HE. In vitro anti viral activity of Calcium elenola te’ Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy 1969 167-172
(7) Elliot G, Buthala D, DeYoung F. Preliminary safety studies with calcium elenolate, an anti viral agent. Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy 1975; 8:173-199.
(8) Heinze J, Hale A.H., Carl P. Specificity of the anti viral agent calcium elenolate. Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy 1975 8(4) 421-425.
(9) Fleming H, Waler Wet al. Antimicrobial proper-ties of oleuropein and products of its hydrolysis from green olives. Microbiology 1973 26(5) 777-782
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