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Stomach ulcer, also known as peptic ulcer, is the most common ulcer occurring in an area of the gastrointestinal tract, and can be extremely painful.

Researchers from Manchester University claim that potatoes have certain kinds of unique antibacterial molecules which can not only treat, but also prevent stomach ulcers and heartburn.

Members of the University's Microbiology team now hope the substance, dubbed 'potato juice' could go into production as a daily diet supplement.

The stomach bacteria which cause ulcers generally develop resistance to antibiotics. But with the antibacterial molecules present in potatoes (which does not have side effects), apparently, the stomach bacteria cannot develop resistance, a Daily Mail report said.  

Scientists at the University carried out the test on different types of potatoes before concluding that the Maris Piper and King Edward varieties of potatoes worked the best.

The scientists were inspired to conduct the tests when one of the scientists tucked into a spud for her Sunday lunch, the report said.

"One of our scientists was having Sunday lunch when her boyfriend's grandma said they used to use potatoes to cure stomach ulcers," Ian Roberts, professor of Microbiology at the Faculty of Life Sciences, who worked on the discovery, was quoted as saying by Daily Mail.

"Afterwards she went and bought a bag of King Edwards from a shop on Curry Mile and started testing them in the lab."

"We see this 'potato juice' as a preventative measure to stop stomach ulcers developing that people would take as part of a healthy lifestyle. It could be a huge market if we can get it developed," he added.

The beneficial molecule has not been named yet, but the process of extracting it has been patented and it is hoped that it will be sold as a supplement similar to probiotic yogurt drinks.

In United States, Peptic ulcer disease affects about 4.6 million people annually. (emedicinehealth.com)