The Healing Powers of…Maple Syrup?
Grill us up another plate of flapjacks! It turns out the concentrated maple syrup extract may be able to help us fight off infections.
While there’s nothing quite as comforting as the thought of a stack of fresh pancakes with maple syrup, the sticky stuff could also help to fight infection, new research suggests.
A concentrated form of maple syrup extract has been found to make bacteria more susceptible to antibiotics, according to a study by researchers at McGill University and published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
A research team used a concentrated extract of maple syrup and tested its effect on infection-causing strains of bacteria, including E. coli and Proteus mirabilis, which is a common cause for urinary tract infections.
They found that by combining the maple syrup extract with common antibiotics, it could lead to an increase the bacteria’s susceptibility and help lower antibiotic usage. Maple syrup is a rich source of phenolic compounds, which have strong antiseptic and antibacterial properties.
With antibiotics resistance on the rise, alternative and natural methods of treating infection and the spread of bacteria are being studied and tested more widely across the globe.
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