South African toothbrush tree yields antibiotic to treat tuberculosis in a new way

Jan. 15, 2013

From an article in ScienceDaily, a compound from the South African toothbrush tree inactivates a drug target for tuberculosis in a previously unseen way.

DentistryIQ Editors

The South African "toothbrush tree" is defined as a glabrous or pubescent evergreen shrub or tree of the genus Salvadora; twigs are fibrous and in some parts of the world are bound together in clusters and used as a toothbrush.

Salvadora persica (toothbrush tree). Source: J.M. Garg/Wikipedia In traditional medicine, the tree's antibacterial properties are used for oral health and to treat a variety of medical issues such as bronchitis, pleurisy, and venereal disease. Now, researchers are focusing on a particular compound from the toothbrush tree, called diospyrin, that inactivates a drug target for tuberculosis in a previously unseen way.RELATED INFORMATION ...Fighting bioburden with antimicrobial textiles in dental uniforms "OUCH!!! — I Just Got Stuck"TB is short for Mycobacterium tuberculosis Antibiotics. Why don’t they kill us too? Studies on diospyrin and related naphthoquinone compounds are being conducted as part of the efforts of a consortium of European researchers, More Medicines For Tuberculosis (MM4TB), throughout Europe who are dedicated to the development of new drugs for tuberculosis.Read the original article from ScienceDaily.