Presenter: Paul Bergner

Original Date: May 21, 2016

The discovery that most bacteria exist in fixed biofilm matrices, and that the biofilms can nearly completely evade attack by either host immunity or pharmaceutical antimicrobial agents, has led to new insights into the nature of difficult-to-treat chronic infections. Plants have been in an evolutionary arms race with biofilms for more than 700 million years and some have developed sophisticated methods of not only killing bacteria but also disrupting their their defenses and their ability to form or maintain biofilms. Recent research into the effects botanical agents on biofilms shows that many of our most effective traditional herbs for topical infection have multiple mechanisms of killing bacteria, inhibiting their ability to injure the host, or disrupting biofilms. In this presentation Paul Bergner discusses Allium sativum, Hydrastis canadensis, Mahonia spp, Commiphora myrrha, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, and Acalypha mexicana, several other herbs and delivery media, and their possible effects on chronic wounds and ulcers, MRSA, and oral, sinus, bladder and vaginal infections.

2.0 General CEUs approved by OBNM