Can bitter kola be used as an antibiotic? The straight answer is Yes! Bitter kola can be used as an antibiotic, and I will tell you how.
Most herbal medications are used in conjunction with prescription pharmaceuticals, and they have been shown to reduce the efficacy of many prescription drugs.
Let me show you using a research study on tuberculosis and how bitter kola usage helped decline its effect on the affected person.
See also how bitter kola helps resolve mouth odor
Now let’s dive into it!!
A study that bitter kola can be used as Antibiotics
According to a new study, people with tuberculosis should avoid drinking bitter kola because it might diminish the effectiveness of rifampicin, a broad-spectrum antibiotic.
Researchers explored the potential consequences of taking rifampicin alongside bitter kola and discovered that it greatly inhibited the ability of bodily tissues, especially the lungs, to absorb the antibiotic.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes tuberculosis, lives in the lung.
They discovered that the presence of bitter kola reduced the quantity of rifampicin in lung tissue, which can destroy the tuberculosis-causing bacteria.
This is a sign of real herb-drug interaction and a decline in tuberculosis therapeutic effectiveness.
According to studies, bitter kola considerably reduces the levels of rifampicin in the lungs by 32% and 39% at the two dosages examined, showing that taking bitter kola alongside rifampicin inhibits rifampicin bioavailability and penetration into the lungs.
The mechanism by which bitter kola inhibited the antibiotic’s capacity to permeate the lungs is still being explored. However, it might be attributable to several variables related to its contents.
As a result, the study cautioned patients and doctors against taking rifampicin and bitter kola simultaneously.
“A time interval should be established to avoid interactions if both of them are taken,” they stated.
Previous research on bitter kola has revealed that it includes chemical components such as flavonoids and metallic ions such as aluminum, magnesium, calcium, and copper.
Because the complex generated is typically non-absorbable, the amount of medication absorbed is reduced.
How bitter kola functions as an antibiotic
Bitter kola is a “wonder plant” since every component is therapeutic.
The use of natural goods such as herbs and vitamins for health maintenance has grown in popularity, raising the possibility of interactions when used with prescription medications.
Bitter kola seeds, also known as bitter kola, are a highly regarded element in African ethnomedicine and are used to manage and cure various disorders, including coughs, colds, voice hoarseness, aphrodisiacs, and liver problems.
In addition, many people taking antibiotics in Nigeria ingest bitter kola regularly or because they believe it has anti-infective effects.
Bitter kola has also been shown to reduce the absorption of other antibiotics, such as penicillin and cephalexin and medicines like quinine.
Some foods should be avoided when taking antibiotics since they reduce their efficiency.
Grapefruits, grapefruit juice, and dietary supplements containing minerals like calcium might prevent the body from properly breaking down and absorbing the drug.
Furthermore, some evidence suggests that meals fortified with high calcium levels, such as certain orange juices, may interfere with the absorption of some antibiotics.
Drinking alcohol while taking antibiotics such as metronidazole or tinidazole can produce a severe response with symptoms such as nausea, stomach discomfort, hot flushes, a rapid or irregular heartbeat, headaches, and dizziness.
Antibiotic Properties of Bitter Kola
Bitter kola seeds include benzophenones, xanthones, alkaloids, phenols, tannins, saponins, kolaviron, a bioflavonoid complex, and metallic ions such as aluminum, magnesium, calcium, and copper, according to phytochemical analysis.
The seeds or extracts have been shown to influence several human medicines’ pharmacokinetics and change cytochrome P450 activities in vitro.
The natural product in vitro CYP inhibition assessment is significant for predicting product-drug interactions if these items are used concurrently.
Herb-drug interaction investigations are required to evaluate the lack or existence of such in vivo drug interactions.
The continuous use of quinine in malaria therapy in Sub-Saharan Africa suggests that it might be used with other natural medicinal substances.
The traditional usage of BItter kola in several Western African countries and the frequency of malaria in this geographical location suggest the potential of combining Bitter kola with quinine.
This may result in a potentially harmful herb-drug interaction, such as therapeutic failure or toxicity.
This type of interaction might occur at any point throughout the pharmacokinetic process.
Indeed, quinine is a CYP3A enzyme substrate both in vivo and in vitro.
This enzyme is essential because it is responsible for synthesizing 3-hydroxyquinoline, a main metabolite of quinine, and the metabolism of at least 50% of therapeutically given medicines.
Despite its overall intake and usage in traditional medicines for treating numerous ailments, the interactions of BITTER kola with pharmaceutical drugs have not been well studied.
Bitter Kola’s Antibacterial Activity in The Upper Respiratory Tract
In recent years, concerns about the rising incidences of antibiotic resistance have driven a quest for therapeutic alternatives, including herbal possibilities.
As a result, this study evaluates the bactericidal potentials of bitter kola extracts on bacterial isolates from the upper respiratory tracts of young adult students.
The disc diffusion technique was used, and phytochemical screening tests (PCST) were performed on bitter kola aqueous and ethanol extracts to determine their active components.
Tannin and steroids were discovered, but saponin, flavonoids, and cardiac glycosides were only found in the ethanol extract.
Both extracts lacked resin alkaloids. A sensitivity test was also conducted between bitter kola extracts and certain common antibiotics (Ciprofloxacin and Augmentin).
The results showed that bitter kola extracts inhibited the test isolates-Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, and Klebsiella species due to the extracts’ high tannin and flavonoid content.
Above all, research supports various assertions that Bitter kola has antibacterial potential, which implies that a controlled administration of Bitter kola may be effective against bacterial illnesses because it is inexpensive and widely available.
Antibacterial Properties of Bitter Kola
Consistent use of synthetic antibiotics is the major driver of bacterial resistance, which can be linked to biological processes in target microorganisms such as membrane permeability, mutations, physiochemical alterations, and efflux dynamics.
Bacterial strains have the genetic capacity to develop and transmit antibiotic resistance rapidly compared to other microorganisms.
Antibacterial medicine resistance has emerged as a major global issue, encouraging researchers to seek out novel compounds with antibacterial characteristics and the potential to be employed as raw materials in developing new therapies.
Bitter kola often alleviates toothaches and prevents cavities, validating the traditional herbalist’s claim.
Consuming the bitter kola seed in moderation may help to avoid bacterial infections in the bowel, according to the study.
According to the study, the antibacterial properties of plant extracts have been widely studied.
According to the findings, all bitter kola extracts tested against the evaluated bacterial strains, whether from humans, animals, or other sources, substantially inhibited growth at a high inhibition zone.
Antifungal Properties of Bitter Kola
Plant extracts have long been used to generate innovative antifungal medications. Plant-based therapies have improved human health and well-being significantly.
Bitter kola extracts are also antifungal against Aspergillus niger.
A bitter kola seed extract has significant fungistatic activity against Candida albicans and Aspergillus flavus.
These findings imply that the extract may include chemicals capable of combating microbial disease.
Anti-Viral Properties of Bitter Kola
According to research, the extract’s potential to rapidly alleviate a patient’s ocular symptoms and signs is evident and encouraging.
Given the scarcity of anti-adenoviral medications on the market, this might be a game changer in treating these viral diseases.
According to this study, G kola is beneficial against viral infection even in resource-limited locations.
Anti-Analgesic Properties of Bitter Kola
Acute and chronic pain management has become a major problem, especially for older people.
Pain is a general sign of many illnesses that results in unpleasant emotional and sensory sensations.
According to research, the molecule has dose-dependent antinociceptive qualities against acetic acid-induced abdominal constriction.
The extract from bitter kola revealed substantial anti-analgesic activities in the tests studied in the ensuing investigation.
Bitter Kola as An Anti-Pneumonia effect
Pneumonia is an inflammatory, infectious lung illness that affects the mucosa of the lungs and can be acute or chronic.
Fungi, bacteria, and viruses cause the condition. When kolaviron concentrations were reduced, anti-Klebsiella pneumonia activity increased.
Kolaviron in bitter kola proved effective at 500 mg/kg and showed a substantial change.
Because it includes antibacterial qualities, bitter kola can be used to treat pneumonia.
Bitter Kola as An Antiglaucoma effect
Globally, glaucoma is the primary cause of permanent blindness.
The most common primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is distinguished by progressive optic nerve degeneration and affects more than 60 million people globally.
Glaucoma causes 15% of blindness on the African continent. The intraocular pressure of healthy young adults was reduced by 21% after ingesting bitter kola extract.
Patients with POAG or ocular hypertension may benefit from this effect of bitter kola in low-income settings.
The Importance of Bitter Kola as An Antibiotic
Despite the availability of powerful antibiotics and antifungal medicines, resistant or multi-resistant bacteria regularly emerge, necessitating the ongoing search for and development of new medications.
As a result, the hunt for natural antibiotic sources must be ongoing.
Bitter kola, a natural plant with phytochemical characteristics comparable to modern antibiotics, has been utilized in traditional medicine to cure infections. It is the cheapest and safest antibacterial option.
It is a plant in the Guttiferae family that grows in the forest for its economic value. It is widespread in the tropics, particularly in West African nations such as Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
They have therapeutic effects due to secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, apigenin, kolaviron, biflavonoid-amentoflavone, saponins, tannins, and resin.
According to scientific studies, stem bark and seeds are used to treat acute fever, cough, and liver diseases and as an anti-vomiting agent.
The seeds also treat respiratory tract inflammations, bronchitis, throat problems, stomach aches, and gastritis.
The seed extract is highly effective against hepatitis, antiseptic, and active against Gram-positive and Gram-negative germs.
Diarrhea, headaches, malignant tumors, and lung diseases are treated with root decoction. It is also used as an anticancer and aphrodisiac.
The root is eaten for tooth cleaning and pain relief.
There are several kola plant species, but only two are economically important: Cola nitida and acuminata.
See all the health benefits of bitter kola
Final Thoughts
Knowing the antibiotic properties of bitter kola and how it functions in the body is important.
Methanol, ethanol, and aqueous extracts of Bitter kola possess antibacterial abilities.
Bitter kola possesses the potential to manufacture potent drugs that could be used to treat infections caused by test organisms, such as typhoid fever, gastroenteritis, throat infections, and cough.