Antibiotic resistance is one of the most serious threats to public health, and food is a major route by which resistant bacteria reach people

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded the University of Delaware $195,746 on August 15, 2026, under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program (CFDA 10.310) to test whether the plant compound piceatannol can restore antibiotic efficacy against drug-resistant Salmonella and E. coli in poultry.

The project unfolds in two phases. Phase one conducts laboratory testing using human intestinal and liver cell lines and an invertebrate model to identify safe and effective combinations of piceatannol and antibiotics and clarify their mechanism of action. Phase two delivers the most promising combination in feed to broiler chickens to measure whether it reduces resistant bacteria in the gut, maintains bird health, reduces antibiotic-resistance genes in the gut community, and supports normal growth. The expected outcome is a feed-based strategy that controls resistant foodborne bacteria while reducing on-farm antibiotic reliance. The work will generate preliminary data for larger studies and train one graduate student and undergraduate researchers.

Performance takes place in Newark, Delaware. The period of performance runs from August 15, 2026, through August 14, 2028. The award is structured as a Project Grant.

Poultry can carry drug-resistant salmonella and escherichia coli (e. Coli) that no longer respond to commonly used antibiotics. This project tests whether natural plant compounds, called phytochemical (piceatannol), can restore the killing power of antibiotics against these resistant bacteria so that far less antibiotic is needed. In the first phase, laboratory tests using human intestinal and liver cell lines and a small invertebrate model identify the plant-compound and antibiotic combinations that are both safe and effective and clarify how they work. In the second phase, the best combination is delivered in feed to broiler chickens to measure whether IT lowers the resistant bacteria carried in the GUT, keeps the birds healthy, and reduces the pool of antibiotic-resistance genes in the GUT community, without harming growth. The expected result is a practical, feed-based strategy that helps control resistant foodborne bacteria while reducing reliance on antibiotics in poultry production. IT will also generate the preliminary data needed for larger studies and train one graduate student and undergraduate researchers. By making antibiotics effective at lower doses and shrinking the on-farm reservoir of resistance, this work supports a safer food supply, healthier animals, and a more sustainable poultry industry.