Friday, 18 August 2023
Cooking food thoroughly and avoiding some types of vegetables and salad during a course of antibiotic treatment could potentially reduce antibiotic resistance, by preventing bacteria carrying resistance genes getting into the gut, according to a new study.
New research from the University of Nottingham has modelled how antibiotic resistance genes build-up through lifetime exposure from food intake and antibiotic treatment. The research published today in PLOS ONE gives new insights into long term increase in resistance genes in gut bacteria and how this could be prevented.
Antimicrobial resistant bacterial infections represent one of the most serious contemporary global healthcare crises. Acquisition and spread of resistant infections can occur through community, hospitals, food, water or bacteria that lives inside us or that we may be exposed to - like E. coli.
The research modelled data from a previous study that found antibiotic gene diversity in gut microbiota is age related. The Nottingham study shows that the long-term increase in resistance in human gut microbiomes can be substantially lowered by reducing exposure to resistance genes found in food and water, alongside reduced medical antibiotic use.
The research suggests that reducing intake of resistance genes is particularly effective during periods of antibiotic treatment where there is an increased risk of the retainment of genes. The researchers suggest that dietary advice should be given to those undergoing antibiotic treatment to avoid products at higher risk of carrying ARGs, (even on otherwise harmless bacteria), as well as ensuring that all food consumed during treatment is fully cooked.
When you’re taking antibiotics is exactly when you are most susceptible to creating longer term problems due to drug resistant bacteria from food. If you eat something that has bacteria on it that doesn’t cause you any harm, but which contains some drug resistant genes and you happen to be taking antibiotics when you eat it then those resistances could become established in your gut ecosystem so next time you need antibiotics they may not work effectively
The study also demonstrates other factors that can reduce the long-term acquisition and retainment of genes providing resistance to different classes of antibiotics. As genes build up over a lifetime the less exposure to these the better so a conservative approach to antibiotic availability and dosing guidelines, as already implemented in many countries, and as advocated in much of literature on antibiotic resistance, would be a practical approach to reducing the long-term number of acquired resistances.
Reducing the number of acquired genes over a lifetime could also be achieved by policy and practice changes in the food supply chain, including agriculture and post-harvest food production. Research from Nottingham Vet School is looking into this using artificial intelligence to monitor the gut microbiome in livestock.
Professor Stekel adds: “The level of benefit to be gained from alterations in medical treatment and dietary changes is highly dependent upon the level of antibiotic use, which varies greatly between countries. While our general model demonstrates benefit across all levels of prescribing, a more nuanced approach that considers region- and country-specific practices, along with specific details of antibiotic classes and associated resistance genes, would provide a better means of quantifying the potential advantages of these changes.”
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More information is available, or a copy pf the paper is available from Professor Dov Stekel on Dov.Stekel@nottingham.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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