Photo of the Week: New Disease-Fighting Antibiotic Potential for 3,000 Natural Products

Natural products have historically provided a wealth of opportunities to fight bacterial and fungal infections. In a new study, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) used its preclinical screening service to help evaluate natural products for disease-fighting potential against bacteria and fungi. Target pathogens include drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans. The project screened more than 300,000 natural products and found more than 3,000 sources for additional investigation and potential development. The proof-of-concept study identified many new samples to investigate that had not previously been known to fight bacterial and fungal infections and opens the potential to find more unknown natural antibiotic compounds.

Photo credit: NIAID