Herbal Antibiotics: Natural Alternatives for Treating Drug-Resistant Bacteria (9 page)

Always work to increase the body's natural immune function through the use of immune herbs or an immune formulation. These should be taken daily. The formulations suggested in this section were generated by looking at immune herbs that were also active against the specific organisms—kind of a two-for-one thing. Nevertheless, don't get obsessed by these, as other immune herbs that don't have any specific antibacterial activity will work, often better than these, in increasing immune function. These are only guidelines.

A note about the suggested formulations:
The formulations that I have included to treat the various bacteria and the types of infections they cause
are only suggestions
. They can be varied considerably. Don't get stuck in thinking that any of these formulations are the only way to go.
Read the book
and the monographs on the herbs themselves. Tremendous sophistication is possible. These are just guidelines.

Finally, don't forget that human love and caring are an essential part of the healing process—they are medicines that you must also dispense to those you are working to heal. There is perhaps nothing that the ill need more than to know that they are supported in their suffering. It is very difficult to live without love, and nearly impossible to truly heal without it.

The rest of this chapter is concerned with the individual resistant bacteria, what herbs are effective in treating them, and then some actual specific suggestions for treatment. These are the main ones you need to know about to be able to take care of yourself and your family.

Subsequent chapters explore the individual herbs in depth; examine what other organisms they are active against; explore what else they can do medicinally; and then show how to grow, harvest, and prepare them as medicines so that you can take complete charge of your own health care if you wish to do so.

Chapter 7
contains in-depth explorations on the immune-enhancing herbs that you can use to keep your immune system strong—a number of which are also potently effective against resistant pathogens. And chapters 8 and 9 will tell you more than you ever wanted to know about making just about any kind of herbal medicine you might ever need.

The major resistant Gram-positive organisms are:

•
Clostridium difficile

•
Enterococcus
spp. (
E. faecalis
,
E. faecium
)

•
Mycobacterium tuberculosis

•
Staphylococcus aureus

•
Streptococcus
spp. (
S. pyogenes
,
S. pneumoniae
)

Note:
All
the formulations given for treating each type of bacteria are meant to be taken simultaneously. Some offer immune support,
some are directly antibacterial, some are for a specific symptom picture.

The
Clostridium
genus comprises about 100 different species of bacteria; four of them are human pathogens. They often form spores that, once they enter a cut or the GI tract, lead to a number of potentially dangerous diseases.

C. botulinum
is the source of botulism poisoning in food (and of the drug Botox) and sometimes also causes infections in wounds;
C. perfringens
can cause anything from food poisoning to gas gangrene; and
C. tetani
is the cause of tetanus.
C. difficile
is the main resistant pathogen. The organism flourishes in people who have been on long antibiotic therapies, especially in hospitals, and because it is exposed to so many antibiotics, it is highly resistant to treatment. At the present most
C. difficile
infections are confined to hospitals, but their numbers are increasing exponentially. The disease causes severe diarrhea and inflammation of the colon and sometimes death.

The primary herbs to use to treat the condition, listed in order of strength against the organism, are the berberine plants, cryptolepis, isatis, usnea, lomatium, licorice, and echinacea. Because juniper berry is active against
C. perfringens
, I would suggest its use for
C. difficile
as well.

Formulation 1 (antibacterial)
Cryptolepis or any berberine plant tincture: 1 tsp–1 tbl, 3–6x daily, depending on severity of symptoms

Formulation 2 (immune support)
Echinacea, ginger, and licorice (equal parts) tincture: 1 tsp, 6x daily

Formulation 3 (antidiarrheal/colon soothing)
Blackberry root and marsh mallow root (equal parts) standard infusion: up to 6 cups daily (Note: Elm bark porridge will also help ease colon inflammation tremendously.)

This genus was considered to be part of the streptococcus genus until it was reclassified in the 1980s. Although both
E. casseliflavus
and
E. raffinosus
may sometimes cause human infections, the major problematical species are
E. faecalis
and
E. faecium
. These enterococcal organisms are often highly resistant to antibiotics, especially in hospitals. They don't respond very well to beta-lactam antibiotics (penicillins and cephalosporins), aminoglycosides, and, increasingly, vancomycin.

Enterococcal organisms cause urinary tract infections, bacteremia, bacterial endocarditis, diverticulitis, and meningitis. The primary herbs to treat them are sida, alchornea, cryptolepis, bidens, ginger, echinacea, juniper berry, usnea,
Artemisia annua
, honey (I know, it's not
exactly
an herb), licorice, oregano oil, and
Acacia aroma
. If you are treating a really tough vancomycin-resistant enterococcal infection, add ginger juice to your formulation; it strongly inhibits resistance mechanisms in these bacteria.

Formulation 1 (antibacterial)
Sida, alchornea, or cryptolepis tincture: 1 tsp–1 tbl, 3–6x daily, depending on severity of symptoms (Note: Bidens tincture will work but requires higher doses and must be prepared properly; see monograph,
page 127
.)

Formulation 2 (immune support)
Licorice, astragalus, and rhodiola (equal parts) tincture: 1 tsp, 3x daily (Note: Echinacea tincture will also be of benefit for immune support.)

For systemic enterococcal infections, diverticulitis, and endocarditis:
Formulations 1 and 2

For enterococcal UTI:
Formulation 1 plus juniper berry–bidens tincture (1 part juniper, 2 parts bidens), 30 drops, 3–6x daily, depending on severity

For enterococcal bacteremia:
Formulation 1 plus
Echinacea angustifolia
tincture, ½ tsp–1 tbl in minimal water, every half hour to hour

For enterococcal meningitis:
Formulations 1 and 2, plus formulations 3 and 4 below

Formulation 3
Piperine: 20 mg, 2x daily, with the first dose in the morning 30 minutes before taking the other formulations, and the second dose at 4
P.M
.

Formulation 4
Isatis leaf (or root) and either Japanese knotweed or stephania (equal parts) tincture: 1 tsp, 3–6x daily

This is the primary cause of tuberculosis (TB), which has become increasingly resistant and difficult to treat. There are, however, some 130 species of mycobacteria, a number of which can cause human disease. The members of this genus are a bit different than other Gram-positive bacteria. They don't stain well, but they also don't possess the double membrane structure of the Gram-negative bacteria. Their membrane is waxy and thicker than that of other Gram-positive bacteria, making them tougher overall. Of the 130 or so species, there are eight that can cause TB.
M. leprae
causes leprosy and the
M. avium
complex often causes pulmonary infections in AIDS patients and has been implicated in Crohn's disease.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis
has been developing increasing resistance for decades. MDR-TB (multidrug-resistant TB) is resistant to the two main first-line drugs used to treat it, isoniazid and rifampicin. Some 450,000 people contract this disease each year. XDR-TB (extensively drug-resistant TB) is resistant to all of the most effective anti-TB drugs. About 45,000 people a year contract this form of the disease; the death rate is about 90 percent.

The herbs effective for treating resistant and nonresistant TB are cryptolepis, sida, bidens, piperine,
Artemisia annua
, berberine plants, juniper, usnea, lomatium, licorice, echinacea, and rhodiola.

Formulation 1 (systemic antibiotic)
Cryptolepis and sida (equal parts) tincture: 1 tsp–1 tbl, 3–6x daily, depending on symptoms

Formulation 2
Piperine: 20 mg, 2x daily, with the first dose in the morning 30 minutes before taking the other formulations, and the second dose at 4
P.M
.

Formulation 3 (immune support)
Lomatium, licorice, and rhodiola (equal parts) tincture: 1 tsp, 3x daily

Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA) has become an increasingly common infectious disease. It is now present in both hospitals and the general community and is passing between people, wherever they congregate, with great abandon. Individuals with compromised immune function, even if they appear healthy, are at greater risk of serious infections. There are numerous strains of the bacteria, some more resistant than others. In many respects MRSA should mean “multidrug-resistant,” not merely “methicillin resistant.”

Most MRSA infections in the general community initially present as small red bumps that are similar to pimples or perhaps spider bites or small boils. There may be fever or even a rash. As the disease progresses, the bumps become larger and very painful, eventually breaking open into deep, pus-filled boils. In those in whom antibiotic treatment fails, the boils continue to spread and the infection goes deeper, sometimes necessitating amputation of affected limbs.

In hospitals MRSA can infect open wounds, intravenous catheters, the urinary tract, and the lungs; the infection can be quite dangerous, spreading throughout the whole system. Unchecked, it can infect the valves of the heart, the bones and joints, the organs, and the blood (bacteremia or sepsis) and cause toxic shock syndrome and necrotizing (flesh-eating) pneumonia. Many people worldwide die from it each year.

The main herbs to treat MRSA are cryptolepis, sida, alchornea, bidens, black pepper, the berberines, usnea, juniper berry, isatis,
licorice, ginger, ashwagandha, echinacea, red root, reishi, honey, and
Artemisia annua
.

Formulation 1 (internal systemic antibacterial)
Cryptolepis tincture: 1 tsp–1 tbl, 3–6x daily, depending on severity

Formulation 2 (immune support)
Ginger, reishi, and licorice (2 parts ginger, 2 parts reishi, 1 part licorice) tincture: 1 tsp, 3x daily

For MRSA UTIs:
Formulations 1 and 2 plus juniper berry–bidens tincture (1 part juniper, 2 parts bidens), 30 drops, 3–6x daily

The main species of streptococcal bacteria that cause disease in human beings are
S. pyogenes
, which causes strep throat, acute bacterial glomerulonephritis, and necrotizing (flesh-eating) fasciitis;
S. pneumoniae
, which causes bacterial pneumonia, otitis media, sinusitis, meningitis, and peritonitis; and
S. agalactiae
, which causes pneumonia, meningitis, bacteremia, intestinal infections, and infections of the female reproductive tract. Of these, the first two are the most common causes of infections in people.

The primary herbs used to treat streptococcal bacteria are cryptolepis, sida, alchornea, bidens (though you'll need to use larger doses, for longer), the berberine plants, juniper, usnea, lomatium, honey, echinacea, licorice, ginger, and red root.

Formulation 1 (antibacterial)
Echinacea angustifolia
tincture: 1 tbl in minimal water, every hour

Formulation 2
Cryptolepis, sida, or alchornea tincture: 1 tbl, every hour

Formulation 3
Lomatium, rhodiola, and eleuthero (equal parts) tincture: 1 tsp, 4x daily

For streptococcal glomerulonephritis:
Formulations 1, 2, and 3, plus juniper berry tincture, 10 drops, up to 6x daily

For streptococcal bacteremia, necrotizing fasciitis, pneumonia, peritonitis, and infections of the female reproductive tract:
Formulations 1, 2, and 3

For strep throat:
½ tsp
Echinacea angustifolia
tincture, undiluted, held in the mouth until saliva is well stimulated, then allowed to dribble slowly down throat, over the affected areas; repeat
every
hour

For streptococcal necrotizing fasciitis (topical):
Honey is best (see monograph,
page 188
). If it's not available, combine equal parts
Echinacea angustifolia
root powder, berberine plant powder, juniper berry powder, and lomatium root powder; mix well, apply as poultice, replace every 2 hours.