Beneficial modulation of the gut microbiome by leachates of Penicillium purpurogenum in the presence of clays: A model for the preparation and efficacy of historical Lemnian Earth.

ABSTRACT: The experiments presented here are based on the reconfiguration of an ancient medicine, Lemnian Earth (LE) (terra sigillata, stamped earth, sphragis), an acclaimed therapeutic clay with a 2500-year history of use. Based on our hypothesis that LE was not a natural material but an artificially modified one involving a clay-fungus interaction, we present results from experiments involving the co-culture of a common fungus, Penicillium purpurogenum (Pp), with two separate clay slurries, smectite and kaolin, which are the principal constituents of LE. Our results show: (a) the leachate of the Pp+smectite co-culture is antibacterial in vitro, inhibiting the growth of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria; (b) in vivo, supplementation of regular mouse diet with leachates of Pp+smectite in

SUBMITTER: Milling S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11651545 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature