Bangladeshi scientists made history by discovering a new antibiotic called Homicorcin. From the bacteria found in Jute seeds, they have discovered this outstanding antibiotic, which will fight against the powerful bacteria and save the lives of many patients. The study was published on May 27 in the ‘Scientific Reports’ journal of the international publisher Nature. Let's get to know more about this groundbreaking discovery.
Background to Homicorcin discovery
Starting from people's daily lives, Jute has long since enriched Bangladesh economically. So there has been a lot of significant work in different fields with this Golden Fiber.
Bangladesh's famous geneticist late Dr. Maksudul Alam discovered the Jute gene design in 2010. Mubarak Ahmed Khan, Chief Scientific Adviser of Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation, made various useful things from Jute. Among them Jutin (corrugated sheet) in 2009 and Sonali Bag (Polythene) in 2016 are notable.
Finally, in the middle of 2021, the country's researchers found a life-saving medicine from that Jute. The antibiotic 'Homicorcin' is named after the scientific name of bacteria and Jute.
Read: 'Golden fibre' no longer holds glitter for Khulna jute farmers
Research for the antibiotic
Six members have worked in the research for 3 years in the Molecular Biology Lab of Dhaka University. Among them, the senior Dhaka University Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Professor Haseena Khan, Professor Dr. Mohammad Reazul Islam, and Professor Aftab Uddin of the Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology lead the study. AHM Shafiul Islam Mollah, a member of the Bangladesh Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) also joined with them. Besides, 3 students of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the Faculty of Biological Sciences, Dhaka University, Shammi Akhter, Mahbuba Ferdous, Badrul Haider, and Al Amin were also researchers.
Haseena Khan, who has been researching Jute for a long time, discovered various kinds of micro-organisms in Jute while studying the mystery of its life. The interest to know their characteristics basically leads to the new research.
Amazing information comes out of the study. More than 50 micro-organisms live in the grooves of Jute fibers. These include a bacterium called ‘Staphylococcus hominis’ that makes something from its own body that kills other bacteria. That means the bacterium is behaving like a deadly antibiotic. Researchers have identified 5 variants of this antibiotic. Two of these have already been mentioned in the report. Work is still going on with the effectiveness of the remaining 3.
Read: BUILD explores producing paper pulp from the whole jute plant
Efficacy of Homicorcin
Homicorcin can work very well in patients whose antibiotics are no longer working. This antibiotic can fight many powerful bacteria. There are some bacteria known as Superbugs that no conventional antibiotic can cure. This new antibiotic has also been successful in these cases.
There are basically two types of antibiotics. One is Broad-Spectrum, which works in all types of micro-organisms. Another is the Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative. With just one broad-spectrum antibiotic, resistance to many germs can be developed simultaneously. So researchers have found this category to be very effective. But the problem is - once the antimicrobial resistance builds up, the antibiotic no longer works. Happily, Homicorcin did not fall into the Broad-Spectrum category. Not only that, but it has also changed the earlier perception of researchers about the category of Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative.
Read: International tender called for reopening closed jute mills: Jute Minister
In the end
How quickly Homicorcin antibiotic reaches the public depends on adequate funding from the Government and pharmaceutical companies. It usually takes at least 5 years to market any antibiotic. Therefore, joint efforts of all Government and non-Government sectors to ensure a fast supply of this life-saving medicine are in high demand of time.