Is It Safe To Drink Coffee While Taking Antibiotics? Here’s What Science Says.

A gesture as commonplace as drinking a cup of coffee during a medical treatment could have unexpected effects. International researchers have discovered that the caffeine present in this popular beverage can interfere with the effectiveness of certain antibiotics, particularly their action against the Escherichia coli bacteria.

The discovery, published by Science Alert, was obtained after analyzing the behavior of 94 chemical compounds in the E. coli cellular transport systems in a laboratory. These systems are responsible for regulating which substances enter and leave the bacterial cell.

Among all the compounds analyzed, caffeine stood out for causing significant changes. Researchers observed that it reduced the absorption of antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin, resulting in more subtle bacterial resistance, known as low-level resistance.

Unlike traditional resistance, in which bacteria develop specific mechanisms to evade drugs, this phenomenon occurs through modifications in genetic regulation and the activity of transport proteins.

One of the key elements is the Rob protein, a genetic regulator involved in about a third of the recorded alterations. According to scientists, caffeine activates Rob and triggers a chain of events that ultimately limits the antibiotic’s entry into the bacterial cell.

Biological engineer Ana Rita Brochado of the University of Tübingen cautioned that, although the results are significant, it has not yet been demonstrated whether this effect occurs in humans or how much caffeine would be sufficient to generate a clinical impact. Furthermore, they emphasize that the same phenomenon was not detected in Salmonella enterica, a bacterium related to E. coli, suggesting that this interaction could vary among microorganisms.

Specialists emphasize the importance of further research into this type of research. Understanding how commonly consumed substances, such as coffee, can influence the action of antibiotics is essential in the face of the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.