Nature is full of antimicrobial compounds. Indeed, most of the antibiotics we use today are derived from secondary metabolites secreted by soil bacteria and fungi. Plants also synthesize antimicrobial compounds as a way of defending themselves against infections. Alliums (which include garlic and onions) in particular are known to produce antimicrobial compounds[1] , and have been investigated as a potential source of antibiotics since at least the 1940’s[2] .
Infectious diseases have long taken a terrible toll on humanity. It has only been in the last hundred years that heart disease and cancer replaced infections as the leading cause of death in most societies.
So there was immense selective pressure imposed by ID’s on societies right into the 20th century. And these societies possessed a wealth of plant lore. Why didn’t they discover antibiotics? It’s true that they didn’t possess germ theory, nor did they develop the scientific method of generating and testing hypotheses.
But trial and error is a powerful method also, given enough time and motivation. The Romans developed hydraulic cements that have only recently been equalled and have not been excelled. The inventors and developers of gunpowder knew nothing of redox potentials, much less chemical equilibria, thermodynamics or molecular orbital theory. But they became very proficient at blowing things up.
Developing effective antibiotics does not seem to me to be more challenging than developing hydraulic cement or building Gothic cathedrals or formulating gunpowder. Yet it just didn’t happen. People died like flies from infectious diseases well into the 20th century.
The work on Bald’s Salve, which has now been published[3] , suggests that traditional medicine did have some success in developing effective antibacterial remedies. The questions then are why this knowledge was not expanded on, and why it apparently was lost. I don’t have the answers, but I bet they are extremely interesting and enlightening.
As for it being a useful modern remedy – don’t count on it. Bald’s Salve is likely much better than nothing, but the odds are poor that it is better, or even as good as modern treatments.
MRSA eye infections are highly treatable by a range of well-established antibiotics:
% of MRSA isolates that are susceptible to various antibiotics.
From METHICILLIN-RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS INFECTIONS OF THE EYE AND ORBIT
The most effective way to address the issue of antibiotic resistance in eye infections is to do cultures and run susceptibility tests and use the results of those tests to guide therapy.
Bald’s Salve is a fascinating story – but only because of what it tells us about the history of medicine, not because it is going to solve any modern problems.
Footnotes
[1] Antimicrobial properties of allium species
[2] Allicin, the Antibacterial Principle of Allium sativum. I. Isolation, Physical Properties and Antibacterial Action
[3] A 1,000-Year-Old Antimicrobial Remedy with Antistaphylococcal Activity