Researchers at the University of Warwick have uncovered a promising remedy in a 9th-century Old English medical text. Recreating a mixture featuring onions and wine, they demonstrated remarkable efficacy against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Bald's Leechbook, an Old English medical manuscript compiled around the late 9th or early 10th century, is among the earliest known works on medicine. It features remarkable recipes, such as one for chilblains using egg, wine, and fennel, or an aphrodisiac with tea and wood boiled in milk.
In a study published in Scientific Reports on July 28, 2020, Freya Harrison and her team from the University of Warwick explored this ancient text. They identified a recipe with potential to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria, positioning it as a candidate for next-generation antibiotics.
Harrison had previously examined this remedy—known as "Bald's eye salve"—in a 2015 study by the American Society for Microbiology. The onion-based preparation proved effective against Staphylococcus aureus.
For their latest research, the team faithfully recreated the recipe, combining onions, white wine, garlic, and bovine bile salts. The results were striking: the potion excelled against biofilms—persistent bacterial communities notoriously resistant to standard antibiotics, which can take 100 to 1,000 times longer to eradicate than free-floating bacteria.
While individual ingredients like allicin from garlic and onions offer antibacterial properties, the researchers emphasize that the synergy of components unlocks its full power. This likely stems from enhanced molecular interactions or complementary action mechanisms.
Could this ancient formulation provide a robust solution to the growing crisis of antibiotic resistance? The World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted this as a critical global health threat in January 2020.
