Antibiotic Herbs
The thirteen with antimicrobial activity in vitro (test tube) were:
- Astragalus
- Berberine
- Cat’s claw
- Cordyceps
- Cryptolepis
- Chinese skullcap
- Garlic
- Japanese knotweed
- Sweet wormwood
- Reishi mushrooms
- Lemon balm
- Peppermint
- Oil of oregano
The research team found inconclusive data regarding the antimicrobial activity of andrographis, sarsaparilla, and thyme. No supporting evidence existed for antimicrobial activity in Siberian ginseng and teasel root.
Anti-Lyme Herbs
These show evidence in the test tube that they kill Lyme bacteria:
- Cat’s claw
- Cryptolepis
- Chinese skullcap
- Japanese knotweed
- Sweet wormwood
- Thyme
- Oil of oregano
Feng, et al. reported:
Japanese knotweed and cryptolepis were the most potent against the replicating organism. Sweet wormwood, black walnut, and cat’s claw had antimicrobial activity against the nongrowing forms. Black walnut may cause excess skin pigmentation.
Feng found commonly used products had little or no activity against B. burgdorferi: andrographis, stevia, grapefruit seed extract, Dipsacus spp., colloidal silver, monolaurin, and ashwagandha. And the study didn’t show any significant anti-borrelia activity for peppermint.
Source
Thompson A, Hynicka LM, Shere-Wolfe KD. A Comprehensive Review of Herbal Supplements Used for Persistent Symptoms Attributed to Lyme Disease. Integr Med (Encinitas). 2023 Mar;22(1):30–38. PMID: 37101730; PMCID: PMC10124234.
Other References
Feng J, Leone J, Schweig S, Zhang Y. Evaluation of natural and botanical medicines for activity against growing and non-growing forms of B. burgdorferi. Front Med (Lausanne). 2020;7:6.
https://www.embase.com/search/results?subaction=viewrecord&from=export&id=L631138166 doi:10.3389/fmed.2020.00006
Feng J, Zhang S, Shi W, Zubcevik N, Miklossy J, Zhang Y. Selective essential oils from spice or culinary herbs have high activity against stationary phase and biofilm Borrelia burgdorferi. Front Med (Lausanne). 2017;4:169. Accessed April 23, 2020.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2907562 doi:10.3389/fmed.2017.00169
These books all have extensive research on the herbal treatment of Lyme disease, TBRF, Bartonella and Babesia
