14 



NATURE, FORMATION, AND ACTIVITIES 



Early Observations 



The earliest ob,ser^■ations on the effect of 

 microbial products upon disease came be- 

 fore microbes were recognized and their 

 metabolic processes known. They were 

 made long before the etiology of human and 

 animal diseases was established. 



The Bible and postbiblical writings, such 

 as the Apocrypha, contain numerous ref- 

 erences to the effect of the soil upon the 

 destruction of disease-producing organisms: 



And when thou goest out of thy camp 



Take a .spade with you 



And cover uj) wliat comes out of nou. 



There is actutd reference to the presence 

 of medicines in pi'oducts of the soil: 



The Lord created medicines out of the earth, 

 And he that is wise shall not abhor them. 



Those who gave such adxice may have 

 had an inkling of many modern ideas which 

 were the result of subsequent observations. 

 Since a great many antibiotic-producing 

 organisms inhabit the soil under our feet, 

 the above statement may have some justi- 

 fication. The introduction of pathogenic 

 microbes into the soil is known to result in 

 their destruction and for many years was 

 even thought to induce the development of 

 organisms that are able to produce anti- 

 biotics. This theory has not been supported 

 by more critical experimental evidence. 



Folklore abounds in prescriptions con- 

 sisting of the application of moldy cheese, 

 rotting meat, and other moldy products to 

 wounds to treat infections or prevent their 

 development. Jules Brunei, in an article 

 published in 1944, quoted the following 

 statement from a Canadian biochemist: "It 

 was dvu'ing a \'isit through central Europe 

 in 1908 that I came across the fact that 

 amost every farm house followed the practice 

 of keeping a moldy rye loaf on one of the 

 beams in the kitchen. When I asked the 

 reason for this I was told that this was an 



old custom and that when any member of 

 the family received an injury, such as a cut 

 or a bruise, a thin slice from the outside of 

 the loaf was cut off, mixed into a paste with 

 water and applied to the wound with a 

 bandage. I was assured that no infection 

 would then result from such a cut." 



The North American Indians were also 

 users of moldy products. In the eighteenth 

 century, they were reported to have applied 

 rotten wood to wounds to pi'ex'ent suppura- 

 tion. 



In Europe, bakers' yeast was applied to 

 abscesses, probably with the intention of 

 making the abscesses c(jme to a head more 

 rapidly. This practice was followed by most 

 of the reputal)le medical authorities, includ- 

 ing Lieutaud, physician to Louis XVI. The 

 yeast was also taken orally. Perhaps this 

 was early vitamin therapy rather than early 

 antibiotic therapy. We might even consider 

 this as a precursor of the combined anti- 

 biotic-vitamin therapy which is now so 

 popular ! 



First Experimental Observations 



With the growth of scientific medicine 

 during the nineteenth century, certain 

 events took place that were to be the basis 

 of modern antibiotic research. These can be 

 briefly summarized as follows: 



1 . There was a growing knowledge of 

 mixed infections and the replacement of 

 parasites by saprophytes when the latter 

 were introduced into infected animals. 



2. Soil microbiology was born, bringing 

 into focus the complex microbial population 

 of the soil and the interrelations among 

 different microorganisms in natural sub- 

 strates. 



3. The investigation of the effect of green 

 manures upon the control of the potato scab 

 organism and the effect of organic manures 

 upon certain root rots of plants led to de- 

 velopments in the field of plant pathology 

 which contributed to our undei-standing of 



