Herbal Therapies Can Help Fight Lyme

May 07, 2019
Korey DiRoma, N.D.

Using herbal therapies in conjunction with antibiotics can help fight lyme more effectively.

Lyme disease is a complex infection involving the spirochetal bacteria species Borrelia burgdorgeri sensu stricto. Treatment for Lyme disease with standard antibiotic therapy is successful for many if caught early. But for some, there continues to be a persistence of symptoms after treatment which is currently being referred to as PTLDS (Post-Treatment Lyme disease Syndrome) (reblan, et al., 2017). Yet there is a substantial amount of evidence mounting that the Borrelia bacteria persists in tissues and can shift morphological forms in unfavorable host conditions (miklossy, et al., 2008). These forms include a round body or cyst form as well as biofilm colonies.

The challenge of antibiotic therapies is that they often do not address all forms of the bacteria. Antibiotic therapies can be powerful, but they are also designed to be very specific. Imagine a battle with many different types of enemies and armament to fight, yet the only thing you bring to the battle are snipers with rifles meant to take out very specific targets. For Borrelia bacteria we must not only target spirochetes, but we must also target cysts and biofilms.

This is how herbal therapies in conjunction with antibiotics may provide increased effectiveness over antibiotics alone. It is like bringing the the entire military to the fight, rather than only snipers. There are many studies that have investigated the killing properties of natural agents against the different morphological forms of Borrelia. In a study by Feng et al. using 34 different natural agents and 3 different antibiotics, they found that one of the active constituents in oregano, carvacrol, had very high activity against cysts AND biofilms (Feng, et al., 2017).

In another study using culture and sensitivities, it was found that the common natural sweetener, Stevia, had excellent activity against ALL morphological forms of Borrelia bacteria, including biofilms and, it was even more effective than antibiotics (Theophilus, et al., 2015).

These studies are in vitro studies, meaning that they are done outside of animals. More studies need to be done on the dosing, toxicity, and effectiveness of these agents in animals. But for hundreds of years before the advent of antibiotic medications, herbs were used as medicine. Using herbs medicinally in conjunction with modern antibiotics can help to improve overall effectiveness of treatment against Borrelia bacteria.

References

1. Persisting atypical and cystic forms of Borrelia burgdorferi and local inflammation in Lyme neuroborreliosis.

Miklossy J, Kasas S, Zurn AD, McCall S, Yu S, McGeer PL.

J Neuroinflammation. 2008 Sep 25;5:40. doi: 10.1186/1742-2094-5-40.

2. ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Front. Med., 14 December 2017 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2017.00224

The Clinical, Symptom, and Quality-of-Life Characterization of a Well-Defined Group of Patients with Posttreatment Lyme Disease Syndrome

Alison W. Rebman1, Kathleen T. Bechtold2, Ting Yang1, Erica A. Mihm1, Mark J. Soloski1, Cheryl B. Novak1 and John N. Aucott1*

1Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States

2Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States

3. Front Med (Lausanne). 2017; 4: 169.

Published online 2017 Oct 11