Scientists have just discovered a natural antimicrobial product that is effective against fungi both in plants and humans

A new study found that a natural antimicrobial product named after the actor Keanu Reeves is effective against fungi that make plants and people sick.

The research, which was just published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, explains how the natural product group called “Keanumycins,” which are made by bacteria in the genus Pseudomonas, kill plant pests.

Researchers, including those from the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology in Germany, say that the group of molecules “kill so well that we named them after Keanu Reeves because he is also very deadly in his roles.”

Scientists have shown that Keanumycins are “effective” against Botrytis cinerea, a plant pest that causes gray mold rot and huge crop losses every year.

Previous research has shown that this mold rot can cause huge losses in fruit and vegetable crops every year. It affects over 200 different kinds of fruit and vegetables, especially strawberries and unripe grapes.

Studies have also shown that the Keanumycin molecules’ active ingredient can stop the growth of dangerous fungi like Candida albicans.

The study says that this group of molecules could be a “environmentally friendly alternative” to chemical pesticides and could also help fight drug-resistant fungi.

“Many fungi that are harmful to people are now resistant to antimycotics,” Sebastian Gotze, a co-author of the study, said in a statement. This is partly because antifungals are used so much in agriculture.

Researchers have been studying the effects of compounds from bacteria of the genus Pseudomonas. They have found that many of these bacterial species are “very toxic” to amoeba that eats bacteria.

Scientists have now found genes for a new group of products called Keanumycin A, B, and C in the genome of the Pseudomonas bacteria.

People say that these natural products are made up of “soap-like” lipopeptide molecules.

Scientists found that Keanumycin worked well against gray mold rot on hydrangea leaves. This suggests that the natural product could be used instead of chemical pesticides to protect the environment.

“Theoretically, the supernatant from Pseudomonas cultures that has Keanumycin could be used directly on plants,” says Dr. Gotze.

When researchers tested isolated parts of the natural product on fungi that make people sick, they found that it “strongly inhibits” the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans.

Scientists say that the latest findings shed more light on how this possible natural product lead works and may help “develop new antifungals for use in medicine and agriculture.”