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RandomFactor writes:

A study led by scientists at Emory Univeristy has shown that extracts from plants used in the South during the civil war have antimicrobial properties effective against several modern multi-drug resistant bacteria.

During the height of the Civil War, the Confederate Surgeon General commissioned a guide to traditional plant remedies of the South, as battlefield physicians faced high rates of infections among the wounded and shortages of conventional medicines. A new study of three of the plants from this guide -- the white oak, the tulip poplar and the devil's walking stick -- finds that they have antiseptic properties.

The antebellum antimicrobials, harvested right on campus, were found to be effective in testing against modern Acinetobacter baumannii, Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae

"Our findings suggest that the use of these topical therapies may have saved some limbs, and maybe even lives, during the Civil War," says Cassandra Quave, senior author of the paper and assistant professor at Emory's Center for the Study of Human Health and the School of Medicine's Department of Dermatology.

The guide was named the "Standard supply table of the indigenous remedies for field service and the sick in general hospitals." and lists botanical names, dosages, and medical properties of various native southern plants.

Even so, amputation was a common treatment for infected wounds and one in 13 surviving Civil War soldiers went home missing one or more limbs.

Journal Reference: Micah Dettweiler, James T. Lyles, Kate Nelson, Brandon Dale, Ryan M. Reddinger, Daniel V. Zurawski, Cassandra L. Quave. American Civil War plant medicines inhibit growth, biofilm formation, and quorum sensing by multidrug-resistant bacteria. Scientific Reports, 2019; 9 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-44242-y

Original Submission