• April 20, 2024

Do you know the benefits of vinegar? Perhaps in the kitchen pantry there is a powerful weapon against a dangerous class of bacteria, suggests new research.

Scientists say that common vinegar could be a cheap, non-toxic and effective way to kill mycobacteria that are becoming increasingly resistant to drugs, including the germ that causes tuberculosis (TB).

Although researchers frequently use chlorine to clean TB bacteria from surfaces, the study authors noted that chlorine is both toxic and corrosive. On the other hand, other disinfectants may be too expensive for tuberculosis laboratories in poor countries where the disease usually occurs.

Powerful cleaner!

But the research team found that acetic acid, the active ingredient in vinegar, does the work cheaply and effectively.

"Mycobacteria are known to cause tuberculosis and leprosy, but mycobacteria that are not tuberculosis are common in the environment, even in running water, and are resistant to commonly used disinfectants," said study lead author Howard Takiff. , of the Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Investigations, in Caracas.

"When they contaminate places where surgeries or cosmetic procedures are performed, they can cause serious infections," he added. "They are innately resistant to most antibiotics, require months of therapy and can leave scars that deform."

According to Takiff, the danger is especially high in the less wealthy countries. "Many cosmetic procedures are performed outside the hospital setting in developing countries, where there are no effective disinfectants available," he explained. "These bacteria are emerging pathogens, how do we get rid of them?"

Takiff's team accidentally discovered that vinegar could kill mycobacteria while evaluating a drug to be dissolved in acetic acid. The vial containing only acetic acid (without the drug) was still killing the bacteria, the team noted.

After that discovery, they evaluated several concentrations of acetic acid and different durations of exposure. With the help of scientists from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, researchers found that strains of tuberculosis exposed to a 6% acetic acid solution (a little more concentrated than standard vinegar) effectively killed tuberculosis for 30 minutes after exposure.

The germ was reduced to undetectable levels, including strains resistant to most antibiotics, Takiff's team reported.