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photo © Viktorija – fotolia.com (under license).

Antibiotics are commonly regarded as the most over-prescribed of all medicines. Having been massively overused as a “short-term fix”, we now have a huge global problem: Antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Drug-resistant, difficult-to-treat bacterial infections such as MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and Clostridium difficile have become very resistant to the strongest of antibiotics. This makes sense if you consider it: “Attacking” the bacteria with isolated molecular components literally forces the bacteria to evolve due to their incredibly rapid process of natural selection.

The world of medicine has been forced to revisit the use of older antimicrobials that had previously been discarded. Here are some of the many things used as antibiotics in ancient times – and the science that shows that the ancients may have known much more about medicine than we give them credit for…

1: Oregano Oil
Oregano has been regarded as beneficial against bacterial infections since very old days. Oregano oils and extracts have seen a massive resurgence in use in modern times as natural cold remedies (oregano extract) and lab research has indicated they are powerfully active against food-borne stomach illness bacteria, including the dreaded E. Coli. ^[1]

Oregano leaves and extracts have been shown by scientists to have anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties against airway infections, proven in an in-vivo study published in 2014. ^[2]