- Home
- About Us
- Contact Us
- MedBound Hub
- InternshipInternship
- BiographyBiography
- InterviewInterview
- Medicine
- Pharmacy
- Physical Therapy
- Biotechnology
- College/InstituteCollege/Institute
- Dentistry
- Blog
- Wellness & Nutrition
- Nursing
- Opinion
- Videos
The world’s first effective antibiotic, "Penicillin", was discovered almost a decade ago (1928) by Alexander Fleming.[1]
After that, there was a huge surge in the discovery and use of antibiotics for a number of diseases such as pneumonia, TB, etc.[1]
The biggest issue faced by scientists now is “drug-resistance” or the emergence of “superbugs.”
Superbugs are a class of bacteria as well as fungi that are resistant to any type of antibiotics or drugs because of their adaptive nature.
The first drug-resistant bacterium was Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), discovered in 1961, just a year after the antibiotic Methicillin was made to treat Staphylococcus aureus infection.
Subsequently, there was the emergence of more and more superbugs, which is a major challenge to the medical community. [2]
Superbugs are produced majorly due to 2 reasons: [2,3]
Misuse or reckless use of antibiotics
Climate change
They tested this in the laboratory using the bacteria Saccostrea glomerata, Streptococcus pneumoniae (causes pneumonia) and Streptococcus pyogenes (causes strep throat and scarlet fever), which were killed due to the protein.[4]
Antimicrobial resistance is a global problem that could decrease the quality of life as well as lifespan by 2050. Hence, scientists are on a constant run to discover new methods of developing more antibiotics or discovering substances that would destroy antimicrobial resistance and/or improve the efficacy of existing antibiotics. [2,3]
The Oyster Discovery: [4]
As Researchers search for methods which could disrupt the biofilms in bacteria, Scientists from the Southern Cross University of Australia came up with a new discovery- utilization of a protein from hemolymph obtained from oyster to kill bacteria as well as increase the effectiveness of currently available antibiotics.
They tested this in laboratory using the bacteria Saccostrea glomerata, Streptococcus pneumoniae (causes pneumonia) and Streptococcus pyogenes (causes strep throat and scarlet fever) which were killed due to the protein.
Additionally, when they used this particular protein in combination with antibiotics- ampicillin and gentamicin, it was found that the effectiveness rose from 2 to 32-fold against bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
We found that heating [the protein] does actually reduce the antimicrobial activity, so cooking would reduce the effect. I definitely would not suggest that people ate oysters instead of taking antibiotics if they have got a serious infection.
Prof. Kirsten Benkendorff, Co-Author, Southern Cross University
Professor Kirsten Benkendorff of Southern Cross University, who co-authored the study, calculated that roughly two dozen oysters would contain enough (oysters' blood) hemolymph to give the average person an active dose of the protein. However, she emphasized that further research was required to purify the protein and comprehend its mechanism of action. [4]
She said “Oysters, as filter-feeding organisms, are sucking bacteria in through their bodies all the time” which makes them potential candidates for finding substances that could destroy bacteria. However, this also means that in areas like those close to stormwater drains, they may accumulate substances that could be dangerous to humans if ingested."[5]
According to Benkendorff, the protein may aid in the treatment of respiratory infections that are resistant to conventional antibiotics due to biofilms. [5]
Infectious bacteria frequently band together to form biofilms, which are sticky colonies that help them better elude the human immune system and drugs.[4]
The researchers discovered that the oyster hemolymph protein worked well against Streptococcus biofilms. [4]
References:
[1] Gaynes, Robert. 2017. “The Discovery of Penicillin—New Insights after More than 75 Years of Clinical Use.” Emerging Infectious Diseases 23 (5): 849–53. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2305.161556.
[2] “Stop the Spread of Superbugs.” n.d. NIH News in Health. https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2014/02/stop-spread-superbugs.
[3] CSIRO. n.d. “Climate Change Is Fuelling the Rise of Superbugs. What Can We Do to Save Ourselves?”. https://www.csiro.au/en/news/All/Articles/2023/February/climate-change-fuelling-the-rise-of-superbugs.
[4] Summer, Kate, Qi Guo, Lei Liu, Bronwyn Barkla, Sarah Giles, and Kirsten Benkendorff. 2025. “Antimicrobial Proteins from Oyster Hemolymph Improve the Efficacy of Conventional Antibiotics.” PloS One 20 (1): e0312305. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0312305.
[5] Lu, Donna. 2025. “Australian Oysters’ Blood Could Hold Key to Fighting Drug-Resistant Superbugs, Researchers Find.” The Guardian, January 20, 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jan/21/australia-sydney-rock-oyster-blood-drug-resistant-superbug-bacteria-antibiotics.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Sanika Dongre/SSK)
