This article was originally written in 2016 regarding the research I was completing for my Master’s dissertation at Middlesex University. The article was supposed to appear on the Sensory Solutions website , but has not quite made it into the blog yet!
There is a growing body of scientific evidence that demonstrates the importance of microorganisms that live in and on our bodies. This group of microorganisms is also called the microbiome. Most people are familiar with the idea of probiotics. A probiotic is a microorganism, for example a bacteria or yeast, which positively affects its human host. For example, Lactobacillus acidophilus, found in yoghurt, is involved in the fermentation of milk and is responsible for the sour flavour you are familiar with. This bacterium also lives in your gut and supports the human host in various ways. One way is by outcompeting potentially harmful bacteria that produce toxins that can enter into the bloodstream or in some cases cause diarrhoea.
The complex role healthy gut bacteria play in our bodies is increasingly being uncovered and this is a very new and exciting area of scientific research. The composition of gut bacteria has been associated with obesity, a concept that is well described in a TED talk by Rob Knight. Healthy gut bacteria also help us digest our food. For example, gut bacteria produce vitamin K2 and a vitamin K deficiency could result if you do not have a healthy gut composition. Our gut also houses the largest reservoir of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, and evidence is growing as to how gut bacteria influence our mental wellbeing. Further, our immune system is very much influenced and regulated by our gut and dysbiosis (high levels of unhealthy bacteria) has been associated with diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and autoimmune disease.
The indiscriminate elimination of bacteria is one of the growing concerns associated with excessive and inappropriate antibiotic use. While antibiotics do kill harmful bacteria that cause disease, they also kill beneficial bacteria that are important for optimum health. Further, bacteria do not only live in our gut, they live in our lungs and also on the surface of our skin. Again, evidence is growing as to how all bacteria in and around our body play a role in human health. Indeed, we have been evolving together for so long that science is still very far away from fully appreciating or understanding our dependency on each other.
This is where my research comes in. I am particularly interested in how herbs can affect the bacteria that live on the human skin. I have been looking at two species of bacteria, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Proprionibacterium acnes, which are present on all healthy skin. P. acnes has for decades been shown to be involved in the formation of acne primarily by increasing in numbers and causing inflammation in the follicle where the acne lesion, commonly known as a pimple, forms. New research is coming out that shows that S. epidermidis has the ability to decrease the skin inflammation caused by P. acnes. Like in the gut, bacteria on the skin are involved in regulating immunity, hormones, and inflammation, as well as preventing unhealthy bacteria species from growing.
Antibiotics are commonly used in treating acne, not only for their antibacterial properties, but because they have anti-inflammatory effects as well. Antibiotics are used topically on the skin or taken internally as a pill. Many people might be surprised to hear that actually topical antibiotic use in acne is not supported by strong scientific research (Williams et al., 2012). Rather it is the theoretical and experiential evidence that comes from actually using the product that supports its use. However, topical antibiotics indiscriminately kill bacteria on the skin and there are many questions as to how effective they actually are. Topical antibiotics frequently irritate the skin and may cause itching, burning, and redness, and are even associated with colitis (inflammation of the lining of the colon). Internal use of antibiotics for acne is associated with long lists of more severe side effects such as inflammatory diseases of the gut, liver disease, and even skin problems. Since antibiotics used to treat acne are used for long periods of time the risk of developing antibiotic resistance is much greater. The main problem with antibiotic resistance is that dangerous and possibly deadly bacteria become immune to the effects of antibiotics.
My research is looking at whether herbs can selectively kill P. acnes but not S. epidermidis. This kind of treatment would be superior to a topical antibiotic in that it would help to control unhealthy levels of some bacteria while leaving populations of healthy bacteria intact. Further, many of the herbs I am looking at are already used safely on the skin and have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. This would mean the herbal extract would not have the negative side effects associated conventional treatment.
One of the benefits of using herbs is that, like our bodies, plants have an innate intelligence. It is this intelligence that directs millions of chemical reactions to occur every second. These reactions are the driving force of life, all taking place in a microscopic universe only truly visible to the human imagination. In this way the complex chemical composition of a living plant is uniquely capable of interacting with the human body in an equally complex way. This is why a whole plant extract containing thousands of chemicals, as compared with a single chemical used in modern medicine, is capable of having so many beneficial effects.
Similar work has already been done by the research team Bockmuhl et al. (2006). Laboratory studies showed that a mixture of pine and blackcurrant extracts had the strongest selective effect on killing P. acnes, while promoting the growth of S. epidermidis. They then tested their extract on the skin of a small group of volunteers and found similar results.
This is an exciting area of research and I will be happy to share the results of my work once I am finished. We are getting positive results, which is supporting the move away from a reductionist worldview towards one that embraces all life as being part of a profoundly interconnected ecosystem.
UPDATE: Calendula officinalis was found to selectively inhibit P. acnes without significantly diminishing S. epidermidis bacterial populations, as both an alcohol or water extraction (tincture and herbal tea). C. officinalis is also anti-inflammatory, wound-healing, and improves skin parameters such as elasticity.
References:
Bockmuhl, D., Jassay, C., Nieveler, S., Scholtyssek, R., Wadle, A. & Waldmann-Laue, M. 2006, “Prebiotic Cosmetics: An Alternative to Antibacterial Products”, IFSCC Magazine, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 197-200.
Williams, H., Dellavalle, R. & Garner, S. 2012, “Acne Vulgaris”, The Lancet, vol. 379, no. 361, pp. 372.