How Vitamin C Helps Anti-Tuberculosis Drugs to Eradicate Pathogens

Researchers have shown that when tuberculosis drug is given with vitamin C, the lifespan of bacteria is reduced as compared to those bacteria which are treated alone with the antituberculosis drug

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by a bacteria called Mycobacteria Tuberculosis (Mtb )which attacks lungs and also damages other parts of the body. It spreads through the air by sneezing, speaking and spiting of people having active bacteria in their lungs.

It is one of the major worldwide disease affecting 10 million people all over the world.For treatment, multidrug are used to reduce the likelihood of resistant organisms emerging. Unfortunately, bacteria grow slowly and dies slowly which increases the duration of treatment.

In the new research published in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy a Journal of American society for microbiology suggest that when tuberculosis drug is given with vitamin C, the lifespan of bacteria is reduced as compared to those bacteria which are treated alone with the antituberculosis drug which means it takes a shorter time to eradicate the pathogen.

In a laboratory, Researchers made three set-ups. In 1^st one they treated mice with drug alone after that with Vitamin C alone in 2^nd one and in third set-up they treated mice with the combination of Vitamin C and drug and observed them for 4 to 6 weeks. They found out that when mice were treated with Vitamin C alone shows no effect but when it was used in combination with a drug it reduces the organ burden faster. According to authors, this treatment was much needed because the Mtb cell produces cells with high endurance and are virtually resistant to antimicrobials.

These actively dividing cells are eradicated by a high level of Vitamin C, even when Vitamin C is used in less concentration it reduces the endurance of these cells by stimulating respiration which in turn facilitate the action of a drug. Vitamin C shows no side-effects even when used in high daily doses. It can also enhance tuberculosis chemotherapy.

“Vitamin C is known to be safe and our current mouse studies suggest that vitamin C could enhance TB chemotherapy,” said Dr. Jacobs. “A clinical trial of vitamin C with TB chemotherapies could demonstrate that such an adjunct therapy could reduce patients’ exposure to toxic TB drugs and also reduce the spread of TB from infected individuals.”