Free Herbal Antibiotics: Natural Alternatives for Treating Drug-Resistant Bacteria by Stephen Harrod Buhner Page A

aureus
(MRSA), are already causing significant problems in hospitals and communities throughout the world. Others, such as
Clostridium difficile
, are becoming increasingly widespread and dangerous. And still others, such as
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia
, are just beginning their run as resistant organisms.
    Most of the resistant pathogens are either Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacteria—a list is included under the respective headings that follow; there are, in addition, one parasitic protist (the malarial parasite), one mold (aspergillus), and one yeast (candida) that have now become dangerously resistant. The parasitic protist is
Plasmodium falciparum
, which causes malaria; the mold is
Aspergillus
spp. (
A. fumigatus
,
A. flavus
,
A. terres
); the yeast is
Candida
spp. (
Candida albicans
is dominant, but most species are now resistant).
    Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms are denoted as such because of their ability to take a Gram stain, one way of identifying them. Of much more importance are the differences in their cellular structure.
    What’s a Gram Stain?
    Hans Gram (1853–1938) found he could see bacteria more clearly under a microscope if he applied a stain made from crystal violet to them. Different types of bacteria absorb the stain differently, enabling researchers to more easily identify them.
    Just as we have skin, bacteria have an external membrane surrounding their bodies, a.k.a. the cell wall. Their interior is called the
cytoplasm
; then there is the
cytoplasmic membrane
, which covers the cytoplasm, then the
cell wall
. The cell wall consists primarily of a polymer called peptidoglycan. If the bacteria happen to be Gram-negative, they will have a second wall called the
outer membrane
. Between the two membranes in Gram-negative bacteria is a compartment, the
periplasmic space
. Gram-positive bacteria, because they lack that other membrane, have much thicker cell walls to protect them from outside events.
    Over 70 percent of all pathogenic bacteria in hospitals are at least minimally resistant.
    Because Gram-positive bacteria have only a single cell wall, even though it’s thicker, they are, in general, much easier to treat. With Gram-negative bacteria, two cell walls have to be penetrated, not just one. In essence, the bacteria have two chances to identify and deactivate an antibacterial that is hostile to them. Even if an antibiotic gets into the periplasmic space, it usually will not kill the bacteria. It still has to penetrate the second wall.
    Gram-negative bacteria have a series of highly synergistic reactions to antibiotics, in essence using three primary mechanisms, all highly coordinated, to resist antibiotics. The first is the double cell wall. The second is a special group of enzymes, beta-lactamases, that are especially effective in deactivating beta-lactam antibiotics (the antibiotics most often used against them). The third is a variety of multidrug efflux pumps. These efflux pumps essentially act like sump pumps; they pump out the antibiotic substances just as fast as they come in so that the bacteria are unaffected by them.
    Gram-positive bacteria rely on their thicker cell wall and very, very fast efflux pumps since they don’t have a periplasmic space in which to hold the antibiotics while they deal with them. Some Gram-positivebacteria, such as the staphylococci, have incorporated the use of beta-lactamases, which they learned about from Gram-negative organisms.
Resistant Diseases and How to Treat Them
    Here are some general thoughts to keep in mind when you are approaching treatment of a resistant pathogen. Always remember that you are dealing with virulent, highly pathogenic microbial infections—your treatment must be focused and continual and unremitting until the outcome is decided, one way or the other.
    As a general rule of thumb, follow these recommendations when dealing with a resistant infection.

RECOGNIZING ENDOTOXINS
    Endotoxins generally