TUESDAY, Aug. 20, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- One of the most abundant fatty acids in the body -- and a key ingredient in the Mediterranean diet -- could be a safe, easy and natural cure for bacterial vaginosis, a new lab study suggests.

Oleic acid can inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria that cause vaginosis, and promote other bacteria species that contribute to female health, researchers reported Aug. 20 in the journal Cell.

“Current treatment methods work as well as a coin flip, and that hasn't changed in more than 40 years of medical practice, so new methods are needed to help patients,” said lead researcher Meilin Zhu, a doctoral student with the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.

More than half of women experience bacterial vaginosis (BV) at least once in their life, suffering abnormal vaginal discharge, odor, irritation, itching or burning, researchers said.

Douching and sex with multiple partners can increase a woman's risk of vaginosis, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

If left untreated, vaginosis can cause problems with pregnancy and an increased risk of STDs, the researchers added.

The condition is treatable with antibiotics, but it frequently comes back within a short time.

That’s because antibiotics can cause a decline in a healthy bacteria species called Lactobacillus genus that naturally colonize a woman’s genital tract, researchers said.

Those healthy bacteria are replaced by another species called Lactobacillus iners that make the genital tract more susceptible to bacterial vaginosis.

For this study, researchers meant to seek out methods of promoting healthy bacteria in the female microbiome by testing various substances on lab-grown lactobacilli.

Preparing for the research, Zhu found that to grow lactobacilli in the lab, she needed to include oleic acid in the culture medium.

Further, Zhu discovered that oleic acid inhibited growth of L. iners and promoted the growth of healthier bacteria like L. genus.

Oleic acid is a fat that features prominently in the Mediterranean diet, according to Stanford University. It can be found in olive oil, nuts, seeds, soybeans and avocado.

Genetic analysis revealed that heathy bacteria contain genes that can process unsaturated long-chain fatty acids like oleic acid, researchers report.

“We used state-of-the-art genetics tools that a lot of researchers in vaginal microbiology haven't had access to, even though they’re the gold standard for any mechanistic study,” Zhu said in a Harvard/MIT news release.

Follow-up lab testing showed that oleic acid could effectively block the growth of even antibiotic-resistant strains of vaginosis-causing bacteria.

Researchers now are preparing a clinical trial to test this potential treatment in humans.

“We believe there is exciting potential to translate these findings to durably alter the vaginal microbiome to improve BV treatment and reduce adverse health outcomes for women globally,” said co-senior researcher Dr. Doug Kwon, an infectious disease physician at Massachusetts General Hospital.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about vaginosis.

SOURCE: Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, news release, Aug. 19, 2024