Clay as an alternative for combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Dr Mukul Chandra Bora

(The writer is Director, Dibrugarh University Institute

of Engineering & Technology. He can be reached at drmukulcbora@gmail.com)

&

Dr. Rupsikha Sharma PhD

(Geology), Tampines, Singapore

Antibiotics are used to kill harmful bacteria which enters in our body to make us ill and major cause of diseases and contributed a lot to human health. Many diseases that once killed people can now be treated effectively with antibiotics. However, some bacteria have become resistant to commonly used antibiotics. Antibiotic resistant bacteria are bacteria that are not controlled or killed by antibiotics. They are able to survive and even multiply in the presence of an antibiotic. Most infection-causing bacteria can become resistant to at least some antibiotics. Bacteria that are resistant to many antibiotics are known as multi-resistant organisms (MRO).

Antibiotic resistance is a serious public health problem. It can be prevented by minimising unnecessary prescribing and overprescribing of antibiotics, the correct use of prescribed antibiotics, and good hygiene and infection control.Some bacteria are naturally resistant to some antibiotics. For example, benzyl penicillin has very little effect on most organisms found in the human digestive system (gut).

Some bacteria have developed resistance to antibiotics that were once commonly used to treat them. For example, Staphylococcus aureus ('golden staph' or MRSA) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (the cause of gonorrhoea) are now almost always resistant to benzyl penicillin. In the past, these infections were usually controlled by penicillin.The most serious concern with antibiotic resistance is that some bacteria have become resistant to almost all of the easily available antibiotics. These bacteria are able to cause serious disease and this is a major public health problem. Some of the examples are:

 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

 vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE)

 multi-drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MDR-TB)

 carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) gut bacteria

Antibiotic Resistance Bacteria has been recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a one of the global health security threat and in the UnitedStates alone, over 2 million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to multiple drugs, known as"superbugs." In a recent study led by Lynda Williams of ArizonaState University suggests that minerals found in some clay deposits might be a good source of antibiotics that can combat superbugs. As antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains emerge and pose increasing health risks, a new antibacterial agents are of urgent need to save the mankind. As humans beings have been applying clay to treat wounds for millennia longbefore any knowledge of pathogens or antibiotics existed and hence the use of natural clay as an antibiotic may be one of the best treatment for Antibiotic Resistance Bacteria.Williams in 2012 explored that the antibiotic potential of two French green clays which are rich in iron smectite when incontact with Buruli ulcers, the clay was found to be effective at killing the bacteria. This recent research explored the antibiotic efficacy of clay froma deposit in the Crater Lake region in Oregon which are likely to be formed 20-30 million years ago and haveincorporated deposits of volcanic ash, including that from theeruption of Mt. Mazama about 7,700 years ago.

The use of clay for use in different therapy is not new and was there since the evolution of human being. Clay materials were either used for the purpose of healing of wound or it was used for the cleaning of hands and body. The very first recorded use of clay as medicine was found on Mesopotamian clay tablets around 2500 B.C. and the ancient Egyptians were also used clay. In Egypt and the reported literature on the use of clay stated that the Cleopatra used clays to preserve her complexion.The use of clay as medicine was also practised by Pharaohs' (As ancient Egyptian rulers, Pharaohs were both the heads of state and the religious leaders of their people. The word "Pharaoh" means "Great House," a reference to the palace where the pharaoh resides. While early Egyptian rulers were called "kings," over time, the name "pharaoh" stuck.) Physiciansas anti-inflammatory agents and antiseptics. The use of Natural clays to heal skin infections were found in treatment of human being since the earliest recorded history of Medicine but it has again regain its momentum in Medical Sciences when it has drawn our attention recently when it was found to use in a clinical use with the French green clay (rich in Fe-smectite) for healing Buruli ulcer a type of ulcer, caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans, is a chronic debilitating disease that affects mainly affects the skin and sometimes bone. The organism belongs to the family of bacteria that causes tuberculosis and leprosy, which provides an opportunity for collaboration with these disease programmes. These clays and others like them are interesting as they may reveal an antibacterial mechanism that could provide an inexpensive treatment for this and other skin infections, especially in global areas with limited hospitals and medical resources.

As per reported research report of Potts and others, the first evidence of use of clay in human life, was documented about 1.2 million years agoin the east African Olorgesailie Basin. It has further strengthened with the archeological research which obtained the tools and evidence of the use of red and black ochers (oxides and clay) by Homo sapiens between 320,000 and 305,000 years ago. In ancient Greece, Pharohs used clays as anti-inflammatory agents, because of their highly absorbent properties, and till today the Dead Sea muds are used in cosmetic preparations and with some evidence for antibacterial properties arising from the large salt and sulphide content of the mud. Furthermore, in many of the ancient civilizations, clay transforms into medallions and then it was traded them for medicinal uses. Asa per researchers called Reinbacher, the example of Terra Sigillata, mean 'signed earth,' is an example of a clay with a seal from the first century A.D., and traded for use primarily to mitigate the effects of poisons. The early uses of clays for health primarily utilized their physical properties of fine particle-size, significant absorption capacity, and plasticity that allowed for protection of wounds. Anthropologist Berthold Laufer (1930) wrote that the uses of clays for health benefits from indigenous cultures were found worldwide and recognized that clays used medicinally were, "almost without exception fine, fat and usually ferruginous."

The names of Bentonite clay are sometimes used to refer to edible Calcium Bentonite Clays and were formed out of volcanic activity which occurred millions of years ago and are basically volcanic ash. There are no such restrictions placed on the consumption of pure Calcium Bentonite Clay but Sodium-based clays are not fit for human consumptions. It is worth mentioning that healing clay may be a very new concept to some of us, but it has been used for thousands of years by the human population around the globe. Long before recorded history, humans have used healing clays externally and internally to cure illnesses, sustain life and promote general health. Ancient tribes of the high Andes, central Africa and the Aborigines of Australia used clay as a dietary staple, a supplement and for healing purposes. In the second century A.D., Galen, the famous Greek philosopher and physician, was the first to record the use of clay by sick or injured animals. He later recorded numerous cases of the internal and external uses of clay in his treatise on clay therapy. In ancient Arabia, Avicena, the "Prince of Doctors", taught hundreds of his students about clay therapy. Dioscorides, a Greek who was considered the engineer of medicine for the Roman Empire, attributed "God-like Intelligence" to the properties exhibited by clay used for therapeutic purposes. The many benefits of clay were recognized by the Amargosians (who preceded the Aztecs) and the natives of Mexico and South America. North American Indians used clay for food, body purification, healing, in ceremonial events and for trading with other tribes. Early French cultures used clay for nutrition and medicinal purposes and also as a trading medium. It is also found by many researchers that, in early days of 20th century, Julius Stump, a renowned Berlin Physician, successfully used clay therapy to treat Asiatic cholera and his contemporary, Dr. Meyer Camberg, used green clay to neutralize arsenic poisoning. During the 1st World War, German physicians offered clay therapy as a solution to the food poisoning, dysentery, diarrhea, and wound infection that was rampant among troops on both sides, greatly reducing mortality rates. During the First World War, the Russian soldiers received 200 grams of clay along with their rations and it was added to mustard in several French regiments, who remained free of the dysentery which ravaged nearby regiments. Modern man is also beginning to appreciate the miraculous healing properties of Calcium Bentonite Clay. In recent times, the osteopaths, and other health professionals which include alternative medicine, are increasingly recommending Bentonite clay to their patients for detoxification and to address other general illnesses.

Healing practices of ancient cultures, as well as modern society, have depended on clay minerals with powerful adsorptive and absorptive properties to treat a variety of topical maladies. Adsorption is the process of attraction, binding, and accumulation of molecules or particles to a solid surface in a condensed layer. Absorption results when a substance diffuses or penetrates into a liquid or solid forming a transition zone or layer, often with a new composition, adjacent the substrate. Clay minerals are ubiquitous in nature and their adsorptive and absorptive capabilities have been exploited in a variety of cosmetics and pharmaceutical formulations. Traditionally, clay minerals are mixed with water for various periods of time (days to years) to form clay gels or pastes that can be applied externally for cosmetic or skin protective purposes.

The use of Bentonite Clay for the purpose of absorbing oil from the skin were used in India since ancient times. The use of Bentonite clay was also found inmaskinghellp to remove toxins from the pores of our faces. The eating of clay by different ancient population of India was found in many researches and it acts as a calcium enhancer of our body and is proved now by different researchers of the world. The presence of various clay minerals like Montmorillonite, Kaolin also acts as an antibacterial agents

So as of now, these ancient remedies of clay which has got the antibacterial properties, may be the one of the treatment to kill the Antibiotic resistance Bacteria and this should be the high priority of the Government to promote the research on Medicinal Geology in our country before we become a market for the other forms of Medicinal Clay available in and around the world. Researchers found that a mixture of just some designated clay and water are capable of killing 16 strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in a laboratory with no sign of adaptation from the bugs with no toxic side effects to the clay, making it an ideal treatment for human consumptions.