Antibacterial in vitro effects of preparations from Anthroposophical Medicine. Issue 1 (December 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Roser, Eva; Gründemann, Carsten; Engels, Inge; Huber, Roman
• Is Part Of: BMC complementary and alternative medicine. Volume 16:Issue 1(2016)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 7
• Publication Date: 2016-12
• Subjects: Staphylococcus -- MRSA -- Berberis radix -- Berberine -- Parenteral use; Alternative medicine -- Periodicals; Complementary Therapies -- Periodicals; 615.505
• DOI: 10.1186/s12906-016-1350-3
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1472-6882

Abstract

Abstract Background Medications from Anthroposophical Medicine (AM) are clinically used for the treatment of infections within a whole medical system but have not yet been evaluated regarding antibacterial effects. The aims of this study was to investigate antibacterial activity of AM medications in cell culture. Methods Screening of AM drug registers for preparations used to treat any kind of infection and being available in dilutions ≤ D2 and without alcoholic content. Selected medications were screened for antimicrobial activity againstBacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus andPseudomonas aeruginosa using the agar diffusion method. For antimicrobial active preparations growth kinetics (drop plate method) and minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC, macrodilution method) were determined. Results Thirty-three preparations matched the selection criteria and were chosen for own experiments. One of them (Berberis Decoctum D2) exhibited bactericidal activities againstBacillus subtilis andStaphylococcus aureus, including methicillin resistant strains. The MIC could be determined as 5 mg/ml. The effects could be related to the content of berberine in the extract. No activity towards gram-negative bacteria was found. The other tested extracts had no antibacterial effects. Conclusion Berberis Decoctum D2 which is used in AM to treat infections exhibits bactericidal effects onStaphylococcus aureus, including methicillin resistant strains.