The remedy was found in Bald's Leechbook - an old English manuscript containing instructions on various treatments held in the British Library.
Experts from the university's microbiology team recreated the remedy and then tested it on large cultures of MRSA.
In each case, they tested the individual ingredients against the bacteria, as well as the remedy and a control solution. They found the remedy killed up to 90% of MRSA bacteria and believe it is the effect of the recipe rather than one single ingredient.
Dr Freya Harrison said the team thought the eye salve might show a "small amount of antibiotic activity".
"But we were absolutely blown away by just how effective the combination of ingredients was," she said.
Dr Lee said there are many similar medieval books with treatments for what appear to be bacterial infections.
She said this could suggest people were carrying out detailed scientific studies centuries before bacteria were discovered.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Fun with Medical History
1,000-year-old onion and garlic eye remedy kills MRSA
