02/17/2023 / By Kevin Hughes
The latest study on moonmilk, a mineral deposit found in caves
and known for its curative properties, has led to the discovery of a
mysterious compound active against bacteria and resistant to numerous
antibiotics.
Since the beginning of time, humanity has been able
to make use of the environment for
resources, techniques and ideas to protect themselves from diseases and to be
responsible for their health. While the effectiveness of definite ancestral
practices has been shown and approved by modern medicine, the reasons
behind several traditional medicines remain a mystery.
Moonmilk, a crystallization commonly found in
different forms such as pasty, dry or liquid in limestone caves, is a
speleothem (geological formation of mineral deposits) most often seen in
the form of a soft rock depending on its hygrometry.
As reported by Sébastien Rigali, a molecular
microbiologist at the Centre for Protein Engineering-CIP (InBios/Faculty of
Science) of the University of Liège, there is a great deal of
archaeological proof for its use as an anti-infectious agent, mostly in
the Swiss and Austrian Alps.
Rigali’s laboratory decided to examine the
microbial flora of moonmilk to discover the reasons for its use in human and
animal therapy.
The first step was to go into the caves of the
Condruzian plateau to search for deposits of moonmilk and to isolate
filamentous actinobacteria, the bacteria that are winners in the production of
antimicrobial agents. The scientists found several of them, both in number and
diversity.
Underground pharmacy
capable of manufacturing hundreds of antibiotics
A study of the genomes of the isolated bacteria
showed that they joined in the formation of a massive underground pharmacy.
This microbial conglomerate is capable of manufacturing hundreds of antibiotics, some of which are used
regularly today.
However, what is likely the most fascinating is
that the enormous majority of the biosynthesis genes involved in bioactive
compound production discovered in these bacteria are mysterious in the sense
that it is not likely to connect a known molecule with them.
This means that these strains constitute a genuine
reservoir for the discovery of new bioactive molecules. “Statistically, it’s as
if all you have to do is bend over and pick up and identify a new antibiotic, antifungal
or even anticancer agents,” Rigali said.
The reality clearly is much more complex. These
molecules do not easily grow under laboratory conditions. Removed from extreme
development conditions and oligotrophic, it is hard to keep them “alive” once
they are taken to the surface.
Furthermore, their development in the lab is
frequently not excellent, as the medium usually used is too rich and toxic
compared to the nutritive condition discovered in their original ecological
niche.
To cope with these issues, Rigali and his team
worked together with other laboratories and with the company HEDERA-22. They
were able to work out the first mysterious compound.
“It is an antibiotic named ‘lunaemycin’ and
produced by a new bacterium Streptomyces lunaelactis, lunaemycin
and lunaelactis, referring to the ecological niche from which this molecule and
this bacterium originate, the moonmilk. The lunaemycin has interesting
properties, particularly active against Gram-positive bacteria that
are multi-resistant to antibiotics,” Rigali said.
Lunaemycin represents an initial shot in the
immersed part of the “moonmilk iceberg,” which holds numerous molecules that
are still unknown until now and which could have identical properties.
The lunaemycin is also this first “proof of
concept” that shows the capacity of research teams to find new molecules –
from the first distortions in the arcades of the Walloon caves to their
structural resolution and the determination of their biological exercises.
If the study delivers a positive legitimacy to the
use of moonmilk in traditional medicine, it indicates once more the extent of
the treasures that the microbial world is still ready to provide
humanity. (Related: Researchers
believe Chinese herbal medicine could be the antibiotic alternative that this
world so desperately needs.)
This study is published in the International
Journal of Molecular Sciences.
Follow Breakthrough.news for more news
about traditional medicine found in nature.
Watch the video below to know how
Wormwood can be a natural medicine to cure many illnesses.
Video Link: https://naturalantibiotics.news/2023-02-17-scientists-discover-hidden-pharmacy-in-limestone-caves.html
This video is from the Prevailing Truth Channel channel on Brighteon.com.
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Sources include:
Tagged Under: antibiotic, Antibiotics, antimicrobial agents, bacteria, bioactive, genomes, HEDERA-22, human therapy, lunaemycin, molecules, moonmilk, natural medicine, traditional medicine
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