The Antibiotic Alberta Plant Project

Infectious diseases affect millions of people around the world. The discovery and commercialization of antibiotics were able to save many lives. However, the overuse of antibiotics has led to the development of many antibiotic resistant bacteria. Since 2009, the World Health Organization has declared antibiotic resistance has a threat. They stated in their 2017 report that if nothing is done “humans could soon find themselves in an era where simple infections once again kill millions every year.”

The Antibiotic Alberta Plant Project (AAPP) developed at Lethbridge College has the aim to identify new antibacterial molecules towards pathogens from plants that are growing in Alberta. To date, no commercialized antibiotics have been isolated from plants, even though traditional medicines and ethnobotany have shown some antimicrobial properties in many plants around the world.  The isolation of antimicrobial molecules from plants is of great importance as it could be the opening to new antibiotic molecules discovery.