Introduction

1,000 year old remedy kills MRSA superbug

1,000 year old remedy kills MRSA superbug

Bald's Leech Book
The Anglo-Saxon recipe that kills MRSA
Image: The British Library Board

Take cropleek and garlic, of both equal quantities, pound them well together… take wine and bullocks gall, mix with the leek… let it stand nine days in the brass vessel…

This ninth-century Anglo-Saxon remedy for eye infections has been found to kill the modern-day superbug MRSA and disrupt naturally antibiotic-resistant biofilms in tests conducted by researchers from The University of Nottingham and Texas Tech University. The recipe is from Bald’s Leechbook, a volume in the British Library that is thought to be one of the earliest-known books of medical advice and medicines.

“We were absolutely blown away by just how effective the combination of ingredients was,” said microbiologist Freya Harrison

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