Science

Secrets of Clay

Today, scientists say that Clay could provide a breakthrough in the fight against superbugs. Researchers testing dirt which originated in French volcanoes found it could kill up to 99 per cent of colonies of bugs such as MRSA and E coli within 24 hours.

Scientists believe agricur, found in the Massif Central mountain range, could lead to the development of a class of antibiotics to which superbugs have no resistances but over the same period, control samples of MRSA not treated with agricur, grew 45-fold.

Researchers say that in laboratory experiments, the clay was found to wipe out bug colonies in a day.

The clay also kills other deadly bacteria, including salmonella and a flesh-eating disease called buruli, which is a relative of lep rosy.

It disfigures children across central and western Africa. MRSA and other bacteria have developed resistance to conventional antibiotics, largely because patients stop using prescribed drugs when they begin to feel better rather than finishing their course of treatment.

This allows the hardiest bugs to survive and spread. And scientists searching for antibiotics to replace penicillin have until now had only limited success.

The healing properties of French green clays, mostly made of minerals called smectite and illite, were first discovered by French doctor Line Brunet de Course.

She used it to fight buruli at clinics in Ivory Coast and Guinea. When she approached the World Health Organization in 2002 with 50 case studies, the organization described her work as ‘impressive’.

The scientists do not yet fully understand how agricur treats MRSA and other infections. It is thought more than one component is involved.

Dr Williams, a minerals expert, said: “We have found several anti-bacterial clays that appear to transfer unidentified elements to the bacteria that impede their metabolic function”.

“It is possible that it is not one single element that is toxic to the bacteria, but a combination of elements and chemical conditions that attack the bacteria from different angles so as to overwhelm their defense systems.” Added DR Williams

Statistics illustrate that in the UK, deaths from MRSA have risen from 100 a year in the early 1990s to more than 1,600 in 2005.

Another study Published in 2005 under the heading” Antibacterial Activity of Soil-Bound Antibiotics “which held by a group of researchers (Yogesh Chander, Kuldip Kumar, Sagar M. Goyal, and Satish C. Gupta).

The goal of this study was to determine whether or not soil bound antibiotics are still active against bacteria.

Results of this study showed that tetracycline and tylosin adsorbed to soils retained their antimicrobial activity suggesting that even if antibiotics are tightly sorbed to soil, they can still play a role in the emergence of antibiotic

resistant bacteria in the environment. Scientists say that since tetracycline has a longer half-life than tylosin , soil microbes may be more induced to develop tetracycline resistance than tylosin resistance.

New study

A recent study by Dr. Linda Williams and Dr. Shelley E. Haydel from Arizona State University concluded that clay may be used as a healer.

This study is just the beginning; an awakening for the sleeping world and the medical powers-that-be that clay is a serious contender in the field of safe healing.

This new surge of information, putting clay into the healing spotlight, can and will open many doors of great magnitude.

According to the study, researchers believe that clay can stop the growth and spread of the MRSA virus, E-Coli and Staphylococcus Aureus viruses is just the beginning. In a petri dish, it is easy to understand how clay works to stop the spread and proliferation of the bacteria. Scientists say that because a good clay has the ability to bind and bond with a substance of positive charge ions, the clay molecules (due to their very strong negative ionic charge and mineral composition) actually surround and draw into themselves the weaker positive virus. Once surrounded and held in this state, the virus is incapable of multiplying. Because it is cut off from its source of nutrition, it either dies or is carried out of the body. This works well on open wounds, boils, and internal infections.

They made a conclusion that the chemistry of the water used to hydrate the clay poultices contains the critical antibacterial agent(s), and this chemistry is controlled by the clay mineral composition and surface properties. The clay that promotes bacterial growth (CsAr02) may have provoked the natural immune system of the patients infected with M. ulcerans. Treatment with the antibacterial clay (CsAg02) may then have sterilized the wound, promoting natural healing.

Characteristics and different uses of clay

Today, scientists believe that there are many unique characteristics in soil so that it has many different uses as the following:

1.         Clay is used for making pottery items, both utilitarian and decorative. Different types of clay, when used with different minerals and firing conditions, are used to produce earthenware, stoneware and porcelain.

2.         It is used in many industrial processes, such as paper making, cement production and chemical filtering.

3.         Clay being relatively impermeable to water and  is used where natural seals are needed, such as in the cores of dams, or as a barrier in landfills against toxic seepage.

4.         Recent studies have investigated clay’s absorption capacities in various applications, such as the removal of heavy metals from waste water and air purification.

5.         A traditional use of clay as medicine goes back to prehistoric times. An example is Armenian bole, which is used to soothe an upset stomach, similar to the way parrots in South America originally used it

6.         A more recent, and more limited, use is as a specially formulated spray applied to fruits, vegetables and other vegetation to repel or deter codling moth damage, and at least for apples, to prevent sun scald.
7.         It can be used in construction field as dry clay is normally more stable than sand with regard to excavations.
8.         Natural clay minerals can be used to heal skin infections.

Conclusion

Allah Almighty and His prophet Mohamed peace be upon him told us 1400 years ago that clay is a sterilized matter. So, He Almighty orders us to make the “Tayammum” instead of ablution in case of there is no water by saying: (And if you are ill, or on a journey, or one of you comes after answering the call of nature, or you have been in contact with women (by sexual relations) and you find no water, perform Tayammum with clean earth and rub therewith your faces and hands (Tayammum) . Truly, Allah is Ever Oft­Pardoning, Oft-Forgiving.){ Tayammum – The Women -verse43}.

Also the prophet says in the prophetic Hadith that “earth was made for me for praying and purification” [Narrated by Muslim].

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By: Abduldaem Al-Kaheel
Website: www.kaheel7.com/eng

References:
•                       http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-490288/Could-mud-volcano-kill-99-cent-superbugs.html
•                       https://www.agronomy.org/publications/jeq/abstracts/34/6/1952
•                       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay
•                       http://www.naturalnews.com/022475_clay_bacteria_evidence.html

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