Wildflower once used to treat wounds and sore throats shows promise in fighting dangerous superbugs

Published: April 8, 2026 10:54am EDT

Tormentil grows wild across the UK, Ireland and Europe. Ihor Hvozdetskyi/ Shutterstock

Long before we had modern antibiotics to rely on, people often turned to traditional medicines from plants to treat infections.

The root of tormentil (Potentilla erecta), a small yellow wildflower that grows across Ireland, the UK and Europe, was used for centuries in Irish and European traditional medicine. It was used to treat wounds, sore throats, diarrhoea and gum disease. These traditional uses suggested that tormentil could contain compounds powerful enough to kill microbes.

Our latest research has now shown that not only does tormentil have antimicrobial activity, it may also be powerful enough to fight microbes that are resistant to modern antibiotics.

Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global threat. This occurs when bacteria evolve to survive the drugs used to treat common infections. This makes some infections very difficult and sometimes impossible to treat. Antimicrobial resistance could be pushing us back to a time when once treatable infections could again become deadly.
More:
https://theconversation.com/wildflower-once-used-to-treat-wounds-and-sore-throats-shows-promise-in-fighting-dangerous-superbugs-279406