Forskolin is a herbal extract that is widely available in health stores. It is promoted as a supplement to reduce weight as well as decrease allergies. The extract is also marketed as a bodybuilding supplement.

The new study conducted on laboratory mice said that some bacteria hide in cells lining the bladder, making it difficult for antibiotics to flush them out. Because of this ability to disappear in the bladder lining these bacteria can return and cause a relapse of urinary infections, the researchers added. E. coli bacteria are linked to over 90 percent of the urinary tract infections caused in humans.

Women are affected four times as much as men, says the background information of the article appearing in the online edition of the journal Nature Medicine. Although antibiotics do treat urinary infections successfully, most people suffer a relapse within weeks.

"After customary antibiotic treatment, the vast majority of the bacteria are either killed by the antibiotics or eliminated during urination," lead researcher Soman Abraham said. "However, there are small numbers of bacteria that survive antibiotic treatment because they sneak into the lining of the bladder, waiting for the opportunity, after antibiotic treatment, to come out and start multiplying again."

The bladder lining is generally impenetrable to bacteria. Within the lining there are pouch like structures that stretch to accommodate urine. However in cases of infections, these pouches provide a safe haven for E.coli. But the herbal supplement forskolin can flush out these bacteria exposing them to antibiotics.

Abraham said forskolin supplements revved up cellular activity in the bladder pouches causing them to throw out the hiding bacteria. "If we combine this with antibiotics we would be in a very good position to eradicate urinary tract infection," he added.

The Duke University microbiologist added forskolin is widely used in Asia to combat a variety of ailments. But its regular usage is known to reduce painful urination. In the mice, the herbal extracts were either injected or placed directly into the bladders.

However Abraham warned consumers not to self-medicate themselves with forskolin. Larger animal trials and then clinical trials are needed to assess its efficiency in urinary infections, he added.

"This type of treatment strategy may prove to be beneficial for patients with recurrent urinary tract infections," Abraham said. "Ideally, use of this herb would expel the bacteria, where it would then be hit with antibiotics. With the reservoir of hiding bacteria cleared out, the infection should not recur."

The National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NKUDIC) says urinary tract infections are a serious health problem affecting millions of people each year and are the second most common type of infection in the body.

Latest estimates reveal urinary infections account for about 8.3 million doctor visits annually. It added that nearly 20 percent of women who have a UTI will have another and 30 percent of those will have yet another. Some of the indicators of UTI are as follows
* Burning feeling while urinating
* Frequent or intense urges to urinate
* Pain in the back or lower abdomen
* Cloudy, dark, bloody, or unusual-smelling urine
* Fever or chills

Antibiotics are used to treat urinary infections because if untreated it will spread to the kidneys and cause other complications.

Recurrence of infections is a huge issue, but the above study might have found a solution to the problem. If forskolin can demonstrate comparable ability in human trials then recurrence of urinary tract infections may be a thing of the past.