Substance in SUGAR that wipes out superbugs dubbed 'most promising antibiotic candidate in decades' - Daily Mail

Albicidin is an antibiotic made by disease-causing pathogen in sugar cane leaves Scientists have discovered the molecule blocks infection by changing its shape New tests showed it is effective against salmonella, E. coli and pneumonia

Dr Dmitry Ghilarov, head of the research group examining albicidin at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK, said: 'We believe this is one of the most exciting new antibiotic candidates in many years.

The development of albicidin as an antibiotic has been slow because scientists could not work out exactly how it engaged with its target in plants - the bacterial enzyme DNA gyrase.

Now scientists have this added structural understanding of how albicidin works, they hope to use it to modify the antibiotic and make it more effective against drug-resistant bacteria.

In the latest study, scientists used a powerful microscope to discover that albicidin takes an L-shape, blocking the gyrase from rejoining the broken DNA, like 'a spanner thrown between two gears'.

Through laboratory tests, the scientists found it to be effective against some of the most dangerous bacterial infections often contracted in hospitals, including salmonella, E. coli and pneumonia.