Health Insider Update

Nisin is an all-natural preservative found in many foods and beverages including processed cheese and meats. Nisin extends a food’s shelf life by suppressing pathogenic bacteria and Gram-positive spoilage. Turns out, Nisin can also kill resistant bacteria and tumor cells.

Nisin, a bacteriocin, is a protein created by bacteria to kill competition. Nisin is one of the bacteriocins that is responsible for transmuting milk into yogurt, cheese, and other products.

According to a study published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Nisin may be able to fight two of modern medicine’s biggest problems: super bugs and cancer. A group of researchers at the University of Michigan gave high doses of nisin to mice with head and neck tumors. After nine weeks, nearly 80% of tumor cells had been killed.

Nisin has also been shown to kill bacteria including MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) by breaking up biofilms and then binding with bacteria to prevent it from mutating into a super bug. Researchers believe that Nisin also plays a role in activating the host’s immune response.

So far, nisin’s tumor-killing capabilities have only been shown in mice. In human standards, the required dosage would be comparable to 30 Excedrin-sized pills of purified nisin. Still, these findings are good news. We may have an all-natural and relatively safe way to fight cancer and life-threatening bacterial infections.