An everyday artificial sweetener found in sugar-free drinks and diet foods might hold the key to fighting some of the world’s most dangerous drug-resistant bacteria.
Scientists at Brunel University London have discovered that saccharin, a sweetener used for over a century, can kill bacteria that no longer respond to antibiotics.
Antibiotic resistance is a growing global health crisis.
Many medical treatments, like cancer therapy or even tooth extractions, depend on antibiotics to prevent infection.
But with rising antibiotic resistance, some bacteria have become nearly impossible to treat.
In 2019, drug-resistant infections directly caused 1.27 million deaths and played a role in nearly 5 million deaths worldwide.
The study, led by Professor Ronan McCarthy at Brunel’s Antimicrobial Innovations Center, focused on two especially dangerous bacteria: Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
These bacteria can cause deadly infections and are listed by the World Health Organization as top-priority threats due to their resistance to most antibiotics.
The research team discovered that saccharin is not just sweet—it’s also deadly to these bacteria. It damages their cell walls, causing them to break apart and die.
This damage also allows antibiotics to enter the bacteria more easily, making them more effective. According to Professor McCarthy, “Saccharin weakens the bacteria so much that even existing antibiotics can slip in and finish the job.”
The findings, published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, show that saccharin also stops bacteria from growing and copying their DNA.
Even more impressive, it prevents them from forming biofilms—slimy protective layers that shield them from drugs and help them stick to surfaces like wounds or medical devices.
To test the sweetener’s real-world potential, the team created a wound dressing infused with saccharin. In lab tests, it worked better than common silver-based antimicrobial dressings used in hospitals today.
What makes this discovery especially exciting is that saccharin is already widely used and considered safe for humans. Developing new antibiotics often takes decades and billions of dollars. But this sweetener could offer a shortcut to tackling one of the biggest health threats of our time.
The World Health Organization has warned that we may be approaching a “post-antibiotic era,” where even minor infections could once again become deadly. This new research gives hope that an ingredient in your diet soda might help turn the tide against superbugs.
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