Fungi Anhängsel
[Christian Schwägerl]
Von unschätzbarem Wert
Ohne sie gäbe es kein Bier, kein Brot und kein Penizillin. Sie speichern Kohlenstoff und kommen als Baumaterial zum Einsatz. Forscher haben die ökonomische Leistung
von Pilzen berechnet – und kommen auf eine atemberaubende Summe.
Pilze bilden ein eigenes Reich innerhalb des Stammbaums des Lebens. Ihre oberirdischen Fruchtkörper sind nur der sichtbare Teil eines riesigen unterirdischen Geflechts,
des Myzels.
Ohne sie gäbe es kein Bier, kein Brot und keinen Camembert. Ihre Stoffwechselprodukte wirken antibakteriell, Cholesterin senkend oder Stimmung aufhellend.
Viele Baumarten brauchen sie, um Kohlenstoff zu speichern und wachsen zu können. Und neuerdings sind sie sogar im Gespräch als umweltfreundliche Verpackung, als Baumaterial und als Ersatz für Leder. Doch wenn es um Artenschutz und Biodiversität geht, kommen Pilze im Gegensatz zu Pflanzen und Tieren schlecht weg.
»Pilze werden fast überall vernachlässigt«, sagt der Mykologe Marc Stadler vom Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI). »Naturschützer kennen jeden Singvogel, aber von Pilzen hört man kaum etwas, und in Politik und Wirtschaft tauchen sie überhaupt nicht auf«, kritisiert der Forscher, der ab 2024 für vier Jahre die International Mycological Association leiten wird. Dieser globalen Vereinigung der Pilzexperten gehören rund 30 000 Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftlern an, die sich mit den faszinierenden Lebewesen beschäftigen.
Anders als Tiere haben Pilze kein Gehirn, anders als Pflanzen betreiben sie keine Fotosynthese. Sie bilden ein eigenes Reich innerhalb des Stammbaums des Lebens.
Ihre oberirdischen Fruchtkörper, die viele als labberige Beilage auf dem Teller kennen, sind nur der sichtbare Teil eines riesigen unterirdischen Geflechts, des Myzels.
Pilze gehören gleichzeitig zu den größten Organismen des Planeten (das Gewicht des schwersten bekannten Pilzes der Welt wird auf 600 Tonnen geschätzt) und zu den kleinsten (einzellige Hefepilze etwa haben einen Durchmesser von fünf bis zehn Mikrometern). Es gibt mehrere Millionen Arten und erst ein kleiner Teil davon ist erforscht.
Ihre Macht zeigt sich im Verborgenen
Die mangelnde Wertschätzung für Pilze soll jetzt eine Zahl beseitigen, die Marc Stadler zusammen mit 10 weiteren Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftlern ermittelt
und im Journal »Fungal Diversity« veröffentlicht hat: Auf knapp 55 Billionen Dollar beziffert das Team den Wert all der Leistungen, die Pilze für die Menschheit erbringen. Das entspricht der Hälfte des globalen Bruttosozialprodukts, also des Geldwerts sämtlicher Waren und Dienstleistungen, den alle Staaten zusammengenommen pro Jahr erwirtschaften.
»Wir behaupten nicht, dass die Rechnung auf den Dollar genau stimmt, aber es ist unseres Wissens nach die erste Gesamtrechnung dieser Art und soll als Grundlage für weitere Berechnungen dienen«Marc Stadler, Mykologe am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung
Die Forschenden haben dazu all die Wirtschaftsbereiche identifiziert, in denen Pilzprodukte jedweder Art – von extrahierten medizinischen Wirkstoffen über mikroskopisch kleine Hefepilze bis zu großen Speisepilzen – eine Rolle spielen, und dann versucht, für jeden Bereich einen Marktwert zu ermitteln. Dafür wurden entweder direkte Angaben aus Branchenberichten herangezogen, etwa für alkoholhaltige Getränke, oder aber Schätzungen auf Grund von Referenzpreisen angestellt, wie zum Beispiel bei der Kohlendioxid-Speicherung. »Wir behaupten nicht, dass die Rechnung auf den Dollar genau stimmt«, sagt Stadler, »aber es ist unseres Wissens nach die erste Gesamtrechnung dieser Art und soll als Grundlage für weitere Berechnungen dienen.«
Zu den medizinischen Anwendungen von Pilzen zählen nicht nur die bekannten Antibiotika wie Penizillin und Cephalosporin, die Bakterien abtöten, indem sie den Aufbau von deren Zellwänden blockieren. Statine, die den Cholesterinspiegel im Blut absenken sollen, werden ebenfalls aus Pilzen extrahiert oder nach dem Vorbild solcher Stoffe synthetisiert. Allein sie haben den Pharmakonzernen weltweit im Jahr 2021 einen Umsatz von gut 14 Milliarden Dollar beschert. Der Wirkstoff Cyclosporin A, der die Immunabwehr unterdrückt und bei Transplantationen zum Einsatz kommt, wird aus dem bodenbewohnenden Schlauchpilz Tolypocladium inflatum isoliert. Bezeichnenderweise stammen auch viele Wirkstoffe, die gegen Pilzinfektionen zum Einsatz kommen, selbst aus Pilzen, da verschiedene Arten und Gruppen im Wettbewerb miteinander stehen und dafür chemische Abwehrstoffe entwickelt haben. In der medizinischen Forschung werden große Sammlungen von Pilzorganismen angelegt, kultiviert und chemisch gescreent. Insgesamt, so heißt es in der Studie, haben die Medikamente, die auf Pilzen beruhen, einen Marktwert von jährlich rund 50 Milliarden Dollar.
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Noch deutlich größer ist das Einsatzgebiet von Pilzen, um Nahrungs- und Genussmittel herzustellen. Hier reicht das Spektrum von Backwaren, die mit Hilfe von Hefen entstehen, über Käse, der durch verschiedenste Pilze wie etwa Penicillium roqueforti oder Penicillium camemberti zum Reifen gebracht wird, bis hin zu Alkoholika wie
Wein, Bier, Gin und Whisky, die es ohne die Hilfe verschiedenster Stämme von Saccharomyces nicht gäbe. Auch bei der Verarbeitung von Schokolade, Kaffee, Essig und Kombucha sowie bei der Herstellung von Sojasoße kommen Pilzorganismen zum Einsatz. Hinzu kommen Nahrungszusatzstoffe, etwa das Konservierungs- und Säuerungsmittel Zitronensäure. Es wird in riesigen industriellen Mengen ausgerechnet mit Hilfe von kultiviertem Schwarzschimmel Aspergillus niger gewonnen, der sonst als Feind von Lebensmitteln bekannt ist.
Pilze werden natürlich auch direkt gegessen. Rund 60 Arten von Speisepilzen werden der Studie zufolge in Kulturen angebaut, 2000 wild wachsende Arten gelten als genießbar und werden hobbymäßig oder kommerziell gesammelt. Vor allem in China nehmen Pilze eine zentrale Stellung in der Esskultur wie auch in der traditionellen Medizin ein. Eine besonders wertvolle Art ist der Chinesische Raupenpilz, der laut Studie bis zu 60 000 US-Dollar pro Kilogramm einbringen kann. Ophiocordyceps sinensis befällt im Hochland von Tibet Schmetterlingsraupen und ersetzt deren Gewebe von innen her durch eigenes, bis die Tiere nur noch als Gehäuse des Myzels fungieren.
Die Raupen werden anschließend aus dem Boden ausgegraben. Sie gelten als Delikatesse und sind Quelle für zahlreiche Produkte der chinesischen Medizin.
Der Gesamtwert der mit Pilzen produzierten Nahrungs- und Genussmittel beläuft sich der Studie zufolge auf zwei Billionen Dollar.
Weniger bekannt ist dagegen die Rolle von Pilzen für die Kosmetikindustrie und die Biotechnologie. Aus Pilzen gewonnene Enzyme, die es ermöglichen, chemische Reaktionen bei niedrigeren Temperaturen statt mit rein chemischen Lösungen stattfinden zu lassen, kommen bei der Herstellung von so unterschiedlichen Produkten wie Biosprit, Papier, Textilien, Fruchtsaft und laktosefreien Milchprodukten zum Einsatz. Auch dieser Markt hat laut der Studie ein Volumen von vielen Milliarden Dollar.
Eine wertvolle Symbiose
Doch den mit Abstand größten Geldwert von Pilzen errechnete das Forscherteam nicht für klassische Handelsprodukte, wie sie tagtäglich den Besitzer wechseln. Diese machen an der Gesamtsumme von 55 Billionen Dollar lediglich einen Anteil von 2,2 Billionen Dollar aus. Der bei Weitem größte Teil der astronomischen Summe kommt zu Stande, weil Pilze maßgeblich daran beteiligt sind, dass Bäume Kohlendioxid aus der Atmosphäre entnehmen und in andere Kohlenstoffverbindungen umsetzen. »Pilze sind für das Funktionieren und den Fortbestand von Ökosystemen, vor allen Dingen von Wäldern, unabdingbar«, sagt Mykologe Stadler. Indem sich Pilzfäden symbiotisch mit dem Wurzelwerk der Bäume verbinden, helfen sie aktiv dabei, Kohlenstoffdioxid (CO2) zu binden. Dieser Fakt werde bisher in den Debatten um die Rolle von Wäldern beim Klimaschutz massiv unterschätzt.
Mykhorriza | Pilze gehen mit Bäumen eine enge Symbiose ein. Die Pflanze bezieht Salze sowie Wasser über die feinen Pilzfäden und gibt ihrerseits Stoffwechselprodukte aus der Fotosynthese weiter.
Die so genannte Mykorrhiza besteht aus weit verzweigten Netzen von Pilzgewebe, die den Bäumen bei der Aufnahme von Nährstoffen – vor allem Stickstoff und Phosphor – und von Wasser helfen, sie resistenter machen gegen Extrembedingungen wie Hitze und Trockenheit und sie teilweise auch vor Krankheitserregern schützen. Im Gegenzug bekommen die Pilze von den Pflanzen Kohlenhydrate zur Verfügung gestellt. »Die Mykorrhiza speichert selbst große Mengen Kohlenstoff im Boden und hilft den Bäumen dabei, zu wachsen und zu überleben«, sagt Stadler. In der Studie verweisen die Forscherinnen und Forscher auf Berechnungen des Weltklimarats IPCC, denen zufolge sich 69 Prozent des vom Wald gespeicherten Kohlenstoffs im Boden befinden. Rund 85 Prozent aller Pflanzen unterhalten eine Symbiose mit Pilzen.
CO2-Emissionen werden inzwischen weltweit an diversen Handelsplätzen als Lizenzscheine gehandelt und bekommen dadurch einen Geldwert. Die Pilzforscher legten ihren Berechnungen einen Kurs von 86 Dollar pro Tonne zu Grunde und kommen damit auf einen Wert von knapp 25 Billionen Dollar für das mit Hilfe von Pilzen oberirdisch und fast 28 Billionen Dollar für das im Boden unterirdisch gespeicherte Kohlendioxid. Die schwindelerregenden 55 Billionen Dollar, die Pilze weltweit angeblich erwirtschaften, kommen also hauptsächlich durch die Annahme zu Stande, man müsste für das mit ihrer Unterstützung gespeicherte Kohlendioxid Emissionslizenzen zu Marktpreisen kaufen.
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Umweltökonominnen und -ökonomen reagieren auf die Studie einerseits beeindruckt, andererseits aber auch mit einer gewissen Skepsis. »Ich finde die Bewertung sehr interessant«, sagt die Wirtschaftswissenschaftlerin Terese Venus, Arbeitsgruppenleiterin Bioökonomie an der Universität Passau. »Sie ist ein gutes Beispiel für die Notwendigkeit einer monetären Bewertung von Ökosystemen.« Die Autoren zeigten auf, wie wichtig der Schutz und die Erhaltung der Pilzwelt sei, und lieferten »zahlreiche Beispiele für die Verbindungen zwischen Pilzen und verschiedensten Branchen und Produktionsprozessen«. Für eine grobe Abschätzung sei der gewählte Ansatz vertretbar, da es nur darum gehe, die wirtschaftliche Bedeutung von Pilzen zu unterstreichen. Wäre es hingegen das Ziel, konkrete Entscheidungen über Kosten-Nutzen-Verhältnisse, Steuern oder Ausgleichszahlungen zu treffen, seien deutlich detaillierte Analysen notwendig, bei denen die einzelnen Faktoren ermittelt und gewichtet werden müssten, sagt Venus.
»Es ist sehr schwer, den Anteil der Hefepilze an der Wertschöpfung eines Liters Bier zu quantifizieren«Moritz Drupp, Ökonom an der Universität Hamburg
Der Ökonom Moritz Drupp von der Universität Hamburg sieht es kritisch, dass Stadler und sein Team jeweils den Gesamtwert ganzer Branchen herangezogen haben, etwa bei der Bierproduktion. »Es ist sehr schwer, den Anteil der Hefepilze an der Wertschöpfung eines Liters Bier zu quantifizieren«, sagt Drupp, dessen Forschungsschwerpunkt die ökonomische Bewertung von Nachhaltigkeit ist. Es werde auch nicht hinreichend erläutert, welchen spezifischen Anteil Pilze an der Kohlenstoffspeicherung von Wäldern hätten.
Ebenfalls problematisch findet Drupp es, dass die weltweit großen Unterschiede bei der Bepreisung von Kohlendioxid nicht thematisiert worden seien und mit 86 Dollar pro Tonne nur ein Referenzwert aus der EU gewählt worden ist: »Zwar ist der EU-Emissionshandel der größte Markt für CO2-Zertifikate, aber eben nur auf europäischer Ebene, und dies ist keinesfalls repräsentativ für eine globale Quantifizierung.« Die Weltbank gebe für 2021 einen globalen Referenzwert von 30 Dollar pro Tonne an, wohingegen das Umweltbundesamt die sozialen Gesamtkosten einer Tonne CO2-Emissionen mit 200 Dollar bepreise. Diese Bandbreite hätte Drupp zufolge genannt und analysiert werden müssen: »Eine bessere monetäre Bewertung und gesellschaftliche Wertschätzung von Pilzen ist wichtig. Auf Grund methodischer Schwächen habe ich aber kein Vertrauen in die vorgelegten Zahlen.«
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Pilze sind »überlebenswichtig«
Die Wirtschaftswissenschaftlerin Kathrin Rehdanz, Direktorin des Instituts für Umwelt-, Ressourcen- und Regionalökonomik an der Universität Kiel, hält es für »nicht verwunderlich, dass solche Studien zu sehr großen Werten führen«. Errechnet werde dabei, welche Werte der Gesellschaft verloren gehen, wenn etwas nicht mehr zur Verfügung steht. Diese Situation – dass sich also alle von Pilzen unterstützten Wälder in Luft auflösten – sei aber »eher unwahrscheinlich«. In der Umweltökonomik gehe es dagegen darum, den Wert konkreter Änderungen in Quantität oder Qualität zu errechnen, was in der Studie aber nicht berücksichtigt worden sei. Anders ausgedrückt: Es macht einen gewaltigen Unterschied, ob etwa die Immobilienbranche den Gesamtwert aller existierenden Häuser und Wohnungen angibt oder lediglich die Summe der Verkäufe innerhalb eines Jahres.
Pilzforscher Stadler dreht das Argument um. »Es wird bisher in der Wirtschaftswissenschaft so getan, als gäbe es die Pilze nicht, dabei sind sie überlebenswichtig«, sagt er. Die Studie diene dazu, die Bedeutung der Organismen überhaupt erst sichtbar zu machen. Sie seien so grundlegend wichtig, dass es gerechtfertigt sei, ihnen die Wirtschaftsleistung ganzer Branchen zuzuschreiben: »Alkoholische Getränke herzustellen, geht ohne Pilze nicht«, sagt er. Das Team habe aber deutlich gemacht, dass es sich bei der Berechnung nur um einen »ersten Versuch« handle, dem weitere Analysen folgen sollten. »Wir sprechen von einer Ausgangsbasis, die analysiert und verbessert werden kann«, sagt Stadler.
»Der allergrößte Teil der Pilze, die es auf der Erde gibt, ist bisher weder bekannt noch beschrieben oder gar isoliert – da wartet ein riesiges Potenzial an Naturstoffen darauf, genutzt zu werden«Christopher Lambert, Mikrobiologe an der TU Braunschweig
Mitglieder des Autorenteams halten eine höhere Wertschätzung für Pilze auch deshalb für wichtig, weil diese künftig sowohl zu Fortschritten in der Medizin als auch zum Klima- und Umweltschutz viel stärker als bisher beitragen könnten und enormes ökonomisches Wachstumspotenzial hätten. »Der allergrößte Teil der Pilze, die es auf der Erde gibt, ist bisher weder bekannt noch beschrieben oder gar isoliert – da wartet ein riesiges Potenzial an Naturstoffen darauf, genutzt zu werden«, sagt Mitautor Christopher Lambert.
Die HZI-Wissenschaftlerinnen und Mitautorinnen der Studie, Miriam Große und Hedda Schrey, rechnen mit einem Boom von Start-ups, die auf Pilzenzyme setzen, um energieaufwändige chemische Verfahren zu ersetzen, oder die gezüchtetes Pilzmyzel als Fleischalternative sowie als umweltfreundliches Verpackungsmaterial erforschen. »Wir erwarten, dass in den nächsten Jahren zahlreiche neue pilzbasierte Produkte den Markt erreichen«, sagt Große. Wenn Pilzprodukte dann wirklich verstärkt im Alltag auftauchen, steigen immerhin die Chancen, dass die Organismengruppe nicht länger im Verborgenen agiert.
‡ Folgendes
hat anthroposofische Einschlüsse ‡
“Fungi relate (soul) quality of thinking a lot about things/living in
the psyche in such a way that one does not need much from the outside world but
pumps everything out of oneself -, one will then again find that this inner
quality, which essentially points to the fungi, relates very closely to all
problems that have headache character. This will guide us to relationships
between fungi and headachetype conditions”/ Poisonous fungi can make nerve
tissue capable of regeneration”/Poisonous fungi can make nerve tissue capable
of regeneration. Those with warty caps (Agar) act more towards the periphery,
and those with smooth caps like Amanita phalloides (= Agar-b.) act more in the
direction of the inner parts of nerve tissue. Fungi develop where the cosmic
astrality influencing earth’s forces does not exhaust itself in developing the
flowers of plants above ground level but penetrates further, to just above soil
level. Fungi then result. Development of the colour red is a counter action to
this excessive astralization. ‘Where ever reddening occurs in a natural
process, we have powerful action against astralization” of damaged nerve
tissue. Use is by injection via the rhythmical organism, as this is esp.
appropriate for restoring harmony between astral body and ether body/“Algae and
fungi are the plants which are wholly immersed in the interactions between air
and watery element. The peculiarity is that these plants have a powerful
affinity to the sulphur which is today present everywhere in small amounts - in
the watery element and in air. This means that these plants, if brought into
the rhythmical organism, are particularly suitable for restoring harmony
between the astral body and the ether body”.
Exhibition to a relatively high potency (D 30) directs the action mainly
to the neurosensory system.
Fungi often produce gases/relate more to the watery and airy rather than
the heat element. This preference for the watery and airy elements may be the
reason why they preferably attack the lungs and intestines in human infections.
Mycosis (= Infektionskrankheit durch Pilze als Parasiten im lebenden Gewebe).
Intestinal mycosis given consideration in natural medicine (not possible
to say if it is a primary or secondary disorder). There are indications that
the presence of Cand. in
intestinal flora may play a central role in atopic diseases:
psoriasis/seborrheic dermatitis.
Fungi show tremendous variety in growth/characteristics. By nature
they/the diseases associated with them reside in a cool/humid environment. They
cause retardation in human metabolism (warmth organism).
Exist where the human being is unable to give his I-organization (=
Ich-organisation)/his warmth and light organism adequate structure in the lower
human being.
Treatment: should strengthen I-activity in the organism (intestines).
Different approaches:
A number of authors have referred to intestinal Candida mycosis as a
distinct syndrome. Symptoms: alternating diarrhea/flatus/lowered resistance to
infection/asthma/eczema/neurodermatitis/psychological symptoms
such as lack of drive/depression. Cand. said to be the main cause.
(?Glutenunverträglichkeit?).
1. presence of Cand. in the intestines of healthy subjects proves that
Cand. is part of the physiologic intestinal flora.
2. consider the presence of Cand. in the intestines to be a secondary
phenomenon when the intestinal milieu is abnormal (food intolerance).
3. intestinal candidiasis has a role in neurodermatitis/urticaria.
4. pathological candidiasis only with a confirmed physiologic correlate
as.
5. The absence of confirmed infection parameters does not permit the
conclusion that Cand. in the intestinal flora is of no significance. Low-grade
infections (intestinal mycosis) are often symptomless.
Some patients actually only realize that they had not been well before
once they have been treated. Some authors assume that the absence of
inflammatory changes is actually a characteristic of the syndrome.
We have to ask how "healthy" individuals with Cand. in their
flora will feel in a few years time.
6. intestinal fungi were much more uncommon before antibiotics came
in/primitive peoples/excess nutrition played a role (infants given formulas
instead of mother's milk). Cand. is not part of the primary flora developing in
the intestines of the newborn.
7. Cand. mycosis ist pathological believe there is a connection with a
underlying disorder of intestinal homeostasis. Only yeasts and Bifidum bacteria
remain when antibiotics reduce the normal bacterial flora.
Expansion of yeasts in the intestine may cause vitamins to be withdrawn.
No evidence has thus been brought that Cand. is physiologic in the intestine.
The pathogenic Cand. factors causing infection are well known adherence,
development of mycelia which may be invasive, enzyme production. It is not
clear when and why saprophytic growth becomes pathologic.
The secretory activity of immunoglobulin A, acting as a mediator between
mucosal cells and the inner intestine, is inhibited. It has now been shown that
Saccharomyces boulardii yeast can be taken up into the intestine like particles
derived from lifeless nature. The situation may be expected to be similar with
pathogenic yeasts. Authors agree that fungal infections indicate an area of
least resistance in the host. It is also known that small amounts of alcohols
are produced in cases of intestinal Cand. mycosis. Treatment of intestinal
Cand. reduces the blood alcohol levels, which are low in any case.
Investigation of the intestinal microecology presents methodological
problems in time required (anaerobic organisms that make up the bigger part of
the intestinal flora). Positive tests for Cand. in serum, stools or biopsy
material do not correlate with identifiable pathologic conditions, making
evaluation difficult. It is also difficult to establish in which part of the
intestine the yeasts are growing.
Not much is known about possible symbiosis of yeasts and the human intestinal mucosa. More data are available on therapeutic exhibition of Saccharomyces boulardii (= Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. Boulardii) eine Hefe, verwandt mit Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Sie wird als probiotischer Arzneistoff zur Behandlung von Durchfall sowie vorbeugend während und nach Antibiotikagaben eingesetzt.
The effect of yeasts on the mucosal surfaces of the intestine/of enzymes
secreted into the intestines is yet unknown.
Basically, evidence of yeasts in the intestine or stools does not call
for treatment (in child this may be passing). Minor infections may quite often
be followed by short-term fungal growth in the intestine and this is
spontaneously reversible. With food allergies an elimination diet often reduces
even massive yeast levels.
In the view of those who consider intestinal mycosis to be a definite
syndrome, it involves chronic changes that are difficult to diagnose. One gets
varied pictures of absent or mild symptoms and is not sure whether to treat
them or not. Fungi tend to be parasitic or saprophytic, their existence goes
largely unnoticed. Symptomatic bactera are the
exception, lack of symptoms with intestinal mycosis the rule.
Many people say after successful treatment that they feel much better.
Consider that fungi in stool tests may give falsely negative results.
Unless we have a concept of "health", with criteria for
"well" or "ill", we can only have opinions. The essential
nature of the human being has to be considered as a whole (incl. soul and
spirit) to know if one is dealing with states of health or illness.
Simonis has giving a loving botanical description of the fungi as seen
by a physician. He calls them retarded life forms that still have an echo of
the ancient Saturn. period of human and earth evolution and have
been unable to relate to the more recent development of the Sun period. In
terms of earth evolution they may be considered to belong to the Moon. period of
earth evolution known as Lemuria.
The systematics of fungi cover many categories.
In medicine are epidermophytes
[Microsporum (= Ringworm.)/Trichophyton (Ursache Hautkrankheit)]/molds
[Mucor (verminderte Leucozythenzahl)/Fusarium cephalospores
(Antibiotikum/allergen)/Aspergillus (Haut/Ohren/Nasennebenhöhlen/Lunge/Metastasen:
Herz/Niere/ZNS/in Heu/Kompost/“Fluch. des Pharao.“)/Pen./yeasts [Cand./Cryptococcus. (= "Hidden.
Sphere")]/Saccharomyces (= Zuckerhefen)/Trichosporum/Geotrichum (überal
anwesend)/dimorph fungi [Blastomyces (many symptoms)/Histoplasma (in faeces
birds/bats/lungs)/Coccidioides (flu-like/lungs)/Sporothrix (soil/hay/sphagnum
moss/roses/enters through small abrasions in the skin/lungs/handling cats with
the disease)].
R.S.: Forms living in the Moon region of the earth/originate in the
element of warmth (pollen), but then go into the sphere of decay (saprophytes).
Their fruiting bodies face the soil and not the light as in higher plants.
R.S.: algae and fungi strongly absorb the astrality of their
environment.
Fungi may be considered to be unicellular/without chlorophyll. and therefore depend on nutrients in organic
matter from another source/can live under exclusion of light. May form networks
called mycelia. Some produce hyphae which then produce mushrooms
(boletici/agarici). Spores shed in autumn, similar to the pollen of flowering
plants.
Fungal spore allergy in autumn is the counter image in time of the
seasonal pollen allergy in spring/do not produce fruit in the proper
sense/their fruiting element are the asexual spores (Aspergillus).
Many fungi produce surface pigments to face the light (Agaricae). Their
actual growth sphere is colorless, however. In this they differ fundamentally
from many higher plants (pigments in the root).
Might say that fungi do the opposite of higher plants when it comes to
color. A rose producing red in its leaves seeks to fend off astralization. In
pigment-producing fungi, however, the color is part of the astrality they
seek to absorb (toadstools = mushrooms).
R.S.: diphtheria is fungus-like and suggested treating it with Cinnb,
saying that this would tie up the astral body more closely with the ether body
(Agar).
In many respects fungi hold a half-way position in nature. Their
skeletal matter is the chitin of insects (not in yeast). In their great
variety, the alternation of spore, resting stage and shoot form they are close
to the algae.
R.S.: "and so everything that is fungal by nature has a close
relationship with the lower animal world, bacteria and similar creatures,
particularly with harmful parasites„. Fungi may thus be said to be a kind
of chameleon.
in lower nature, adapting to any given situation.
Fungi grow at widely differing temperatures. In the human body they
thrive at 37°C (low temperatures)/live in cool, dark space/in humid warmth.
(Spores may be heat reSIStant/can tolerate COLD temperatures) retaining their
germinative power for a long time.
Fungi live in a sphere of warmth and in an excess of organic matter.
Going back to earlier stages of earth evolution they have a relationship to the
ancient N and Cyanide atmosphere.
They do not generate heat energy in their quite considerable metabolic
processes but consume it/will thus often maintain cold. Fungi often produce
gases/relate more to the watery and airy rather than the heat element.
This preference for the watery and airy elements may be the reason why
they preferably attack the lungs and intestines in human infections.
Bacterial processes on the other hand tend to generate heat (spontaneous
ignition in haystack/compost stack).
Symbiotic union of fungi and the roots of plants produce mycorrhiza (=
Symbiose von Pilzen und Pflanzen), a borderline region between organically
structured plant matter and the completely lifeless mineral soil.
Such mediation between plant and soil prefigures life when excess N is
present.
Substances produced in the mycorrhiza have a deadening effect on the
surrounding area. Substances from bacteria inhibit fungal growth and vice versa
(griseofulvin from penicillin). Modern antibiotics derived largely
from fungi from soil or originally from their substances.
Fungi produce toxins as characteristic of the whole group of fungi
(Cand).
Bacteria relate more to warmth, algae differ from fungi in that they
show a definite orientation towards light. With their Chlp. they draw the light
down into the water, using it to produce matter in photosynthesis.
Binding of I by algae also relates to the light.
Fungi prefer the lightless sphere of humus and the roots of higher
plants and thrive best under light exclusion. Occasionally they send the
fruiting bodies we know as mushrooms up into the air from the damp rotting
soil.
This would seem to be to seek the air, rather than the light, so that
their spores may spread.
Fungi is a plant in the plant world that consists entirely in a kind of
head/do not develop the leaf sphere which is essential in plant nature/they do
not relate to the rhythmic processes connected with leaf development.
Instead they produce a "flower" at ground level.
R.S.: their development is peculiarly astralized/this would explain why
they do not relate to the human intestinal system, which is based on plant
leaf-type principles, but may become pathogenic in it, similar to the lung.
R.S.: spoke of the soil itself being the basis for fungal life, with
fungi not rising above its sphere. It is different with trees. The powers of
the earth make them grow beyond the soil, taking them up into the light. Fungal
metabolism thus also relates little to light.
Unlike that of intestinal bacteria. Putrefying bacteria bind heat and
light as into matt energy er in their high-energy metabolism/these processes
integrate in the organism.
Parasitic fungi: generally use only partial stages of metabolism,
leaving the rest to putrefaction. Their metabolism thus does not submit to the
principles that guide the human organism, which relates strongly to light.
Fungi play an important role in dealing with dying matter in the soil.
They show a preference for residues from living organisms that contain N and thus facilitate nitrogen metabolism for
plants/contribute much to carbon conversion in the world.
Their capacity for converting large amounts of substrate makes them an
ideal means of conducting metabolic processes in industrial context. They have
the advantage that they do not on the whole bring about complete
lysis but perform only part stages. Another important advantage is that
they finally yield the original substance again, either as a substrate or as a
gas such as CO2.
Bacterial metabolism on the other hand not only converts matter to heat
energy, as mentioned above, but this energy is often converted to high energy
matter and stored in the bacterium. Fungi thus are selfless in their
metabolism, releasing the substance they have been processing. On the other
hand they are also toxic, releasing their metabolic products unprotected into
the environment.
R.S.: characterized their growth, with degradation/decomposition/excess
of matter as dying life. Compared to bacteria, fungi appear to take the
degradation of matter only to a certain level. Fermentation, a self-limiting
process with a relatively low energy yield, is a characteristic. They limit
their activity in the conversion of matter, letting others take the process to
completion.
Plants: constructive metabolism takes care of the soil
Intestinal bacteria: constructive metabolism takes care of the human
intestine
in either case with the aid of light processes. It may be assumed that
the attachment to dying processes seen in fungi means that humans suffering
from mycosis are confronted with increased levels of toxic decomposition
products/are colder/affected by cold.
Fungi prevent the complete digestion necessary for the human organism.
Humans need to convert all matter into a form that is their own. "Anything
taken in from outside must either merely be something that enables it
to develop its own activity; or it has to act in such a way in the body
that the foreign activity does not differ from one of the body's own inner
activities once it has entered into the body“. Fungi not only remain parasitic
foreign bodies in man but also provide their host with a parasitic metabolism,
at least in the intestine.
It has long been known that fungi grow more actively in sugar solutions.
Vaginal mycosis thus develops quite often during pregnancy with its tendency
towards pre-diabetes.
This still calls for more large-scale studies. It seems that one-sided
excess of matter with high-level sugar consumption favors fungal growth.
Ways of gaining insight into intestinal fungal growth in the light of the
anthroposophical view of man.
Behavior of I-organization and astral body
It is difficult to know if a fungus is:
commensal = "just
there",
"mutualist" on the borderline to being pathogenic,
"parasite" = takes nutrients
pathogenic = producing toxins or infection.
R.S.: the basic process we find in humans with intestinal mycosis has to
do with conditions described under the heading of neurasthenia. Pathological
processes may develop if the upper and lower activities in the human
organization are not sufficiently in accord with each other, with the upper not
intervening adequately in the lower, and head processes staying among
themselves. The digestion is weak as a result, unable to assimilate
foreign food matter adequately. The individual's attention is too much
on the outside world, allowing foreign processes to enter to excess and meeting
this with an excessive secondary reaction. These are seen with
allergies.
Weakness of definition may also be due to the opposite condition, is
hypersensitivity in hysteria. Metabolism makes itself independent, and wounds
may be caused. An example of the excessive metabolic activity described by
.R.S. would be Cand. diaper rash of short duration when infants are teething.
Relationship to allergy
Allergies arise because foreign processes are not properly perceived.
Food allergies often in conjunction with intestinal mycosis. The intolerance
often only shows itself with a careful elimination and re-exposition diet.
The human being is not able to register the foreign nature of the food
nor the foreign fungal flora.
Cand.: allergic to milk protein, hen's egg white, almond and soya tend
to attract Cand. rather than other yeasts. These are often people with an
overweening immoderate metabolism/more inclined towards hysterical disorders.
Aspergillus: People in whose stools Aspergillus is been detected will
often show a neurasthenic wyw component and have cereal grain allergies.
Fungal infection might be seen as a sign that the I-organization is not
intervening adequately in the organism. Humans differ from animals in that
foods must be thoroughly killed off and then built up again in a completely
individual way. With both allergy and intestinal mycosis we may assume that the
origin lies in a neurasthenic constitution. Metabolic predominance and
hysterical wounding are then secondary phenomena. It seems likely that such
foreign processes also appear temporarily in the course of acute
diseases/pregnancy that weaken the constitution as a whole.
It is possible that fungi with their foreign substance are in themselves
an allergen. It may also be possible that their presence "triggers"
the actions of other allergens.
Patients with neurodermatitis do not always improve with diet and
constitutional treatment but only when their intestinal mycosis has been dealt
with.
Fungal growth in the intestine has its own dynamics. The I or the I-organization cannot
integrate them into its own growth principles. The result is that an area in
the organism which is not under control, is occupied by
other life forms with foreign activity. In connection with the
"bacillus theory", R.S. repeatedly said that it was the soil which
mattered and not the bacillus. Fungi also work against the I-organization in
another respect.
They produce alcohols from higher fatty acids. These not only cause
destruction and toxic effects but also make people sleepy, weakening the human
I-organization.
The activities of the I
depend on warmth and light. Abnormal fat absorption may cause too much
(pathological heat foci) or too little fat to enter the organism
(malnutrition). Thermography shows intestinal areas subject
to mycotic changes to be colder, possibly because the fungi act against
the warmth organization. This would be another possible explanation of their
negative effect on immune defenses.
Aspects relating to the treatment of
intestinal mycosis
The main aim of treatment based on the anthroposophical view of the
human being must be to give the I or
I-organization and the astral body better access to the lower human being and
intestine. Actual treatment of the mycosis is of secondary importance. The
suggestions made below can only be general. Treatment has to be individualized.
Nutrition
Many authors refer to the importance of the diet. The negative effect of
refined sugar is stressed by all. This is understandable, for the preparation
of sugar is one of the central functions of the I-organization. Taking too
much refined and processed sugar, one relieves the I-organization of its
function and thus weakens it.
A special diet always addresses a person's will. R.S. also spoke of the
helpfulness of a diet chosen of one's own free will and of the way activity is
reduced by a diet taken in a purely passive way. Many of the diets
suggested in the lay press unfortunately ask people to follow the advice
of others blindly. It is difficult to see how a fungus can be "starved
out". The opposite view, that a low-sugar diet to "starve it
out" would give the
fungus an extra appetite for the intestinal wall, is equally difficult
to understand. Many of the measures recommended in the literature weaken
patients rather than strengthening them. Special diets are always
"asocial"
and egotistical by nature, as R.S. made clear. They should therefore only
be of limited duration.
A sudden change to a wholegrain diet which is difficult to digest may
also prove harmful. High proportions of roughage containing cellulose may
induce fermentation with negative consequences.
The foods we eat relate to some degree to our organs. Foods that
influence the liver (artichoke and others) are recommended. A root diet with
its mineral content strengthens the astral head powers in the upper human
being, with the result that he no longer has to be active in metabolism.
Lactic fermentation products such as sauerkraut or yogurt strengthen the astral
body.
Strengthening the I-organization medically
Quartz or silica remedies serve this purpose. R.S.: "silica is the
external correlate, outward directed activity for the I-organization"/"the
physical basis for the I-organization“. Cich. also comes under this heading
(Cichorium / Pancreas comp wa).
Stibium (= Antimon) supports delimiting processes in the intestine
[allergy (Antimonite D 6 w)/Kalium
aceticum compositum dil. w/Plumbum
Ix/Stannum D 14 trit. (W)]
facilitates I-organization intervention or its delimiting function. All mercury
preparations help the mercurial process in which the I-organization is active in the small intestine. Respiratory
function in the lower human being can be encouraged with an iron silicate
preparation [Nontronite D 12 w].
Treatment with roots containing pigments or extracts of these would also go in
this direction carrot juice/beetroot.
Phosphorus and sulfur based medicines to strengthen the lower abdomen
R.S.: The relationship between phosphorous flowering processes and the
lower abdominal organs was shown. All medicines based on flowering plants have
this effect, wormwood for example, with the flowering green
part of the plant used (Absinthium D 1 dil., w). Treatment with Aloe (1x dil., W), Resina Laricis D1 w,
Propolis extract, evening primrose oil (Epogam), Gammocur or similar), borage
oil, garlic (All-s. D 1 w) or onion
(All-c. D 1 w) or Myrrhinil
intest (Cham. ex florae/Betu/Myrrh). Fern and bracken. spores,
Digestodoron w or Aquilinum comp.
(Wala), have the sulfurous character of the spores as their active principle.
R.S. referred to
their action as strengthening the catabolic principles in the digestive tract.
The effect pigments have on the astral body is also an important aspect
of diet beetroot, carrots, roots, leafy vegetables. The common aspect to this
treatment is that the powers of light are enhanced in the intestine.
Suggested treatments for intestinal mycosis thus resemble those for
warts or worms., the weakness of the astral body towards external influences increased.
(Thuj.).
The phosphorus process exists also in the antimycotics used in
conventional medicine. These contain either pigments such as gentian violet
with its surface action, or they may be regarded as pigments, azoles, for
instance (miconon-/ketokon-/fluconazole)/may be chemically converted to
pigments. Tonoftal (Bei Pilzerkrankungen der unbehaarten und der
behaarten Haut, wie z.B. bei Hautpilzerkrankungen an Händen, Füßen und am
Körper sowie bei Kleienflechte (Pityriasis versicolor)] is not a pigment but a
high-energy substance. As
their action is purely physical, the effect often lasts only for as long as
they are given. Etheric activity has to take over.
If this does not happen, or we do not aim to make it happen with
treatment, the danger of resistance developing is great also with fungi, though
this was not considered possible in the past. Instead of giving chemical
antimycotics one may also try relatively high vitamin C doses, ½ tsp t.i.d.,
starting low and gradually going up to this. Sanddorn (= sea buckthorn)
original or "low sugar" elixir w
have a similar effect.
Sugars, bitters, tannins
Roots with sugars/bitter principles/tannins directly stimulate I/astral body/physical body activity.
This strengthens the totality of the upper human being's activity in the
digestion. Instead of a pathological head-development in the lower human
beings, as in the case of malnutrition, one has penetration of the digestive
functions. [Gentiana lutea Rh
5% dil. w/Gentiana comp. Wala/Geum
urbanum w].
There is a point in focusing on particular organs in treating different
forms of intestinal mycosis. In his experience, treatment with the emphasis on
the liver is effective with Cand. mycosis, giving Hepatodoron (Frag. / Vitis),
Chel./Tarax./Cich.
Aspergillus mycosis appears to be more of a kidney problem, Carbo
betulae (= Carb-v.)/Equis-a. may be considered (Equisetum cum sulfure tostum D
6 trit. w).
Pancreatic extracts or bitters to encourage secretion are also helpful,
Pancreas D 1 trit. w.
Cichorium/Pancreas comp. (Wala)/Cich. D 3 dil. w. Treatment with pancreatic enzymes may sometimes serve the
purpose, possibly in combination with bile acids, or also gastric acid
substitution.
Antagonism between bacteria and
fungi
R.S.: antagonism between bacteria and fungi in 1924. A wide range of
preparations is now available that contain Bifidum bacteria, lactobacilli, Bacteroides
or Bacterium subtilis. Though widely used, data are not really adequate in this
field. Many preparations contain lactose or milk protein, which has to be taken
into account if there are allergies in this direction. Treatment has to be
long-term, which means it is more costly.
If the choice of substitution is right, the method does frequently prove
effective.
Guided symbiosis is said to influence immune functions. Again it has to
be continued for some time.
One often starts with a preliminary phase using metabolic products of E.
coli (Pro Symbioflor, Colibiogen, Rephalysin, Hylak).
The next phase is with lactobacilli or coccal preparations (Symbioflor
1, Acidophilus, Eugalan, Paidoflor) to stimulate the acid-producing flora.
Thirdly one would try substitution with Coli bacteria to restore the
milieu (Symbioflor 2/Mutaflor). Others recommend Coli substitution only, to
match the development of the first flora in the newbom. Some laboratories
specialize in producing individual symbiont preparations based on an analysis
of the intestinal flora. These methods, too can be effectiv.
Displacement treatment using apathogenic yeasts
This has been used in a particular section of natural medicine in recent
times. The yeast referred to as apathogenic which is generally used is
Saccharomyces boulardii (Lichee/Mangokern).
As fungi are connected with the ancient Moon stage of earth evolution,
man must let go of that aspect and take his evolution forward. [Monil. D 30 (Staufen)/Albicansan D
5 dil./Nigersan D 5 dil. (Sanum Kehlbeck)].
Cand. infections increase (immune deficits/in premature
infants/epiglottitis). Fungi are also getting resistant to antimycotics,
probably by selection of resistant strains after antimycotic treatment. ‡
Comparison.: Fungi + Lichen + Galls + Plants
Frei nach: L.R. Twentyman, M.B., F.F. HOM.
Comparison.: Fungi + Galls + Lichen + Plants
Metabolism of fungi is mainly catabolic. Their activity is largely a
breaking down of organic substance to inorganic matter. Enormously complicated
processes come about through the cooperation of different fungi together with
bacteria. They tend together towards disintegration, they are in the main death
processes.
The relation between the realm of fungi and the system which in the
human organization carries preeminently the forces of death - the brain and
nervous system? The nerve fibers run as threads throughout the organism. The
brain and nerves live fundamentally as parasites upon the organism. Only in the
embryo do the nerve cells multiply; probably after birth or early childhood
they lose the possibility of reproduction. The fungi of course retain this
capacity and the hyphae are composed of long chains of cells, unlike the nerve
fibre arising from a single cell. In the embryonic stage of life, and even to a
great extent in babyhood, we are almost all head with a small appendage of
trunk and limbs. Gradually we grow down from this head, as a plant grows up
from the root. It has often been noted that plant and man stand in inverted
relationship to each other. A man would have to be turned upside down and
planted with his head in the earth, trunk, limbs and genitals pointing upwards,
for the correspondences between man and plant to become clear.
So if there is a possible relationship to be discovered between brain
and nerves and the realm of fungi, it would point again to the earth as the
home of these strange forms of life. In the embryo and baby, the head is still
concerned with growth, and consciousness is obviously not yet imprisoned within
the witches cottage of our head. But as the death processes gradually take over
in our brains, we wake up in our heads.
Can we get any further by looking at the drug pictures and medical experiences
in relation to fungi? The very nature of fungus activity leading to
fragmentation and disintegration, even to atomization, is echoed in the
intellectual activity based on the brain. This too in its one-sided analytical
and abstracting activity leads to information of ever increasing complexity and
chaos, the information explosion.
So it is understandable that synthetic grasp of the phenomena is
particularly difficult in this study of fungi.
In the homoeopathic Materia Medica we find the following representatives
of the fungi:
Agar-e.:
Agar.:
Agar-ph.:
Bol-s.:
Bov.:
Sec.:
Ust.:
Thlas.: (added, mostly covered with Fungus)
The lichens, a symbiosis of an alga and a fungus are:
Cetr.:
Clad.:
Stict.:
Usn.:
Antibiotics. The huge range of diseases arising from fungus invasion is
outside the scope of this essay. It is worth noting, however, that poisonings
and provings have been due either to eating the mushrooms or fruiting bodies
or in the case of provings, taking tinctures of these. In the case of
fungus diseases, mycelial invasion of tissues takes place. The first are
usually called mycotoxicoses, the second mycoses. Allergic reactions
("farmers lung").
Agar-e.: vomiting and severe vertigo relieved by copious cold water.
Agar-ph.: cause of 90% of deaths due to mushroom poisoning
Bol-s.: together with Bol-la.:
and Bol-lu.: appear in the Materia
Medica with severe symptoms of gastroenteritis. Little else is mentioned.
Bov.: “As if the head were enlarging”/distensive headaches. Clumsiness,
drops things, mixes words up, weakness of limbs.
Skin symptoms are marked, urticarial
and eczematous in type. Hemorrhagic tendencies mainly related to the uterus are
also reported.
Sec.: In Homeopathy found its main use in peripheral arterial disease.
Raynaud's Syndrome, Scleroderma, and arteriosclerosis leading to severe
circulatory obstruction, intermittent claudication, and
gangrene have all on occasion been greatly ameliorated. The modality of
pain < heat runs through the symptoms. Paralyses of indeterminate type are
mentioned with cramps and the notable symptom
of the fingers being spread out wide.
Ust.: similar action as Sec. It has, according to the provings, a strong
relationship to the genital organs and functions. In women, it produced
hemorrhages and has found a main use here in menstrual, climacteric and
post-partum bleeding. Animals have shed their hoofs and hair and shedding of
nails and hair in humans is recorded. Headaches with vertigo and double vision
and scotoma point to migrainous phenomena. So in this little known or used
remedy the same directions of action as in ergot have been noted.
Thlas.: an account of its almost normal symbiotic invasion by a fungus.
The main use of this remedy has certainly been in relation to uterine
hemorrhages, profuse menstruation.
It remains a most valuable remedy in these conditions.
DD.:
1. Common features, spheres of action.
Like most severe poisons they produce gastroenteritis. This symptom might be
dismissed as merely typical of acute poisoning in general but for the
phenomena resulting from eating Amanita Phalloides. In this case the
patient or victim feels perfectly well for hours after eating the mushroom. It
may be up to 24 hours before the symptoms commence
with severe abdominal pain and diarrhea and vomiting. The poison must
have been absorbed, perhaps metabolized, before manifesting specifically in the
abdominal and alimentary symptoms.
2. Varying skin manifestations.
Agar.: chilblain-like itching, burning, red-purplish discoloration >
warmth.
Sec.: discoloration and burning progress to gangrene, the pains being
relieved by cold.
Bov.: varied skin eruptions, eczema, urticaria the most common.
Ust.: loss of hair with associated eruptions of the scalp, scald-head,
are typical.
3. Headaches run through the pictures,
there are in any case few drug pictures without headache. But migraine comes to
the fore with Ergot and its use in orthodox medicine for this condition.
In Agar.: various headaches are described and the ice-cold needles is a
feature. In Bovista there is headache and sensation of enlargement of the head.
Vertigo also is a marked feature in
these drug pictures.
4. Hemorrhages are another common
characteristic in Sec.: Bov.: Thlas.: Bol-s.: and Ust.:. In Agaricus it occurs but is not so
marked a feature.
5. Actions on the nervous system which
have been most studied in Agar.: "Spinal irritation",
twitchings and tics, chorea and spasms all point to actions on the nervous
system. Then there are disturbances of the sense, everything becomes very
beautiful, small things appear large and the sense of balance is disturbed. The
mental faculties are retarded, the emotional balance labile. The symptoms may
intensify to mania. In Ergot the mental symptoms have come under scrutiny of
recent years owing to the use or abuse of L.S.D. Intensification of sensory
impressions and dissociation come about leading to schizophrenic-like
experiences.
Psillocybe species has
hallucinogenic effects, used by Mexican Indians in religious rituals.
To summarize, we may point to the main spheres of action in the
metabolic and sexual organs on the one hand and the nervous system on the
other. The lungs seem unaffected (if we consider the Mycosis caused by
Aspergilla separately). However in lichen Stict.: lung and respiratory and rheumatic
symptoms dominate the picture.
The fungi, as we have noted, have no leaves or proper stems, no
chlorophyll. They lack the middle realm of the plant between root and flowering
process. This middle realm of leaf is related to the lung in inverted fashion.
The leaf takes in carbon dioxide, photosynthesizes it into carbohydrates
and gives off oxygen. The lung gives off the carbon dioxide and takes in
oxygen. They both belong to the rhythmic middle realm between the polarities of
head and abdomen, or root and blossom.
In the fungi this polarity is not established, flowering fruiting have,
as it were, collapsed into the root or perhaps better stated, have not yet emancipated
themselves.
In the lichen Stict.: this middle realm is provided by the algal part of the symbiosis.
What is more, we know that lichens which are particularly hardy in respect of
climatic extremes, are particularly sensitive to
atmospheric pollution as indicators of this pollution. The lichens
therefore seem to be particularly sensitive to the realm which the fungi alone
do not care about, the realm of air and light.
We have still to consider the application in modern medicine of
substances derived from this fungal underworld, the antibiotics. Starting with
Penicillin, an ever increasing variety of these substances are available. Used
in
controlling bacterial infections, inflammations. Their antipathy to
certain bacteria is based on similarities in their metabolic processes,
competition between them resulting in blocking the bacterial growth. This is of
course a
homeopathic action on a very selective narrow front. Looking at the
problems more broadly, from the periphery towards the center rather than from
the center outwards, more holistically that is to say, what can we see? On and
around
the roots, in the soil, flourish the vast multitude of fungi, devoid of
chlorophyll. In the upper pole of trees grows another parasite or
semi-parasite, the mistletoe. This plant is full of chlorophyll even into its
sinker which penetrates the parent tree. It is not subject to gravity in its
growth, nor to the usual earthly rhythms. It has not come to earth. In some
ways we can therefore see it as a polarity to the realm of fungi and it has an
influence on carcinomata, themselves
the polarity to inflammation. From mistletoe, substances can be prepared
with the unique combination of cytotoxic and immuno-stimulating properties. We
have a polarity in disease processes between inflammations and tumors and
a polarity in the sources of remedies working on these diseases.
Does this not lead us to question the relation between this realm of
fungi and the system which in the human organization carries preeminently the
forces of death - the brain and nervous system? The nerve fibers run as threads
throughout the organism. The brain and nerves live fundamentally as parasites
upon the organism. Only in the embryo do the nerve cells multiply; probably
after birth or early childhood they lose the possibility of reproduction. The
fungi of course retain this capacity and the hyphae are composed of long chains
of cells, unlike the nerve fibre arising from a single cell. In the embryonic
stage of life, and even to a great extent in babyhood, we are almost all
head with a small appendage of trunk and limbs. Gradually we grow down from
this head, as a plant grows up from the root. It has
often been noted that plant and man stand in inverted relationship to
each other. A man would have to be turned upside down and planted with his head
in the earth, trunk, limbs and genitals pointing upwards, for the
correspondences between man and plant to become clear.
So if there is a possible relationship to be discovered between brain
and nerves and the realm of fungi, it would point again to the earth as the
home of these strange forms of life.
In the embryo and baby, the head is still concerned with growth, and
consciousness is obviously not yet imprisoned within our head. But as the death
processes gradually take over in our brains,
we wake up in our heads. Historically, it was only in Greek times that
thinking began to be experienced as related to the brain.
Can we get any further by looking at the drug pictures and medical experiences
in relation to fungi? The very nature of fungus activity leads to
fragmentation/disintegration (atomization), is echoed
in the intellectual activity based on the brain. This too in its
one-sided analytical and abstracting activity leads to information of ever
increasing complexity and chaos, the information explosion.
So it is understandable that synthetic grasp of the phenomena is
particularly difficult in this study of fungi.
The lichens, a symbiosis of an alga and fungus.
Consider also, in broadest outline, the antibiotics. But the huge range
of diseases arising from fungus invasion is outside the scope of this essay. It
is worth noting, however, that poisonings and provings
have been due either to eating the mushrooms or fruiting bodies or in
the case of provings, taking tinctures of these. In the case of fungus
diseases, mycelial invasion of tissues takes place. The first are usually
called mycotoxicoses, the second mycoses. There are also allergic reactions,
such as "farmers lung"???
Main actions found in the changes of consciousness and the nervous
irritability showing itself in hypersensitivity along the spine +
tics/spasms/choreiform movements. In addition chilblains and bunions with the
marked
modalities as above.
The questions arise as to how far the changes in consciousness are
brought about by changes in the nervous system itself. And how far the nervous
symptoms such as spinal sensitivity are hysterical.
The brain and nervous system normally function in adult life in an inhibitory
manner. The expression "to keep a cool head" is highly indicative.
Bergson, at the beginning of this century, showed that our senses screen from
us the multitudinous incoming impressions so that we become conscious
only of a tiny selection, those needed for our action. It would seem then that
the fungus represents the brain and nervous system at an earlier, more
embryonic stage of development before it has been overwhelmed by the death
or dying processes characteristic of the adult stages. Sense impressions in our
drug picture are therefore described as more vivid, more full of
life, beauty and springtime.
When we look back even as far as the Greek civilization we are enchanted
by the freshness of their thoughts which are still full of life and perception.
They have not yet been killed off into the abstractions of modern thought
life.
So under the influence of Agar. the Lapp’s and Siberian Shamans find it
easier to re-enter states of consciousness of a dreamlike clairvoyance.
We may further question whether the movements of uncoordinated character
also reflect in some degree the uncoordinated movements of the baby before it
has learnt to still the unnecessary, useless movements and permit
only the useful ones to occur.
Use in mental retardation where there is a failure of the child to wake
up in its mental functions and a persistence in a consciousness of babyhood.
Used in organic diseases of the nervous system: Parkinson/general
paralysis/M.S./epilepsy (chorea).
Recently Bromocriptine ??? and several allied substances from Ergot have
found use in the treatment of Parkinsonism.
In lichen Stict.: lung and respiratory and rheumatic symptoms dominate the picture.
Fungi have no leaves/no stems/no chlorophyll. They lack the middle realm
of the plant between root and flowering process. This middle realm of leaf is
related to the lung in inverted fashion. The leaf takes in Carb-diox.,
photosynthesizes it into carbohydrates and gives off oxygen. The lung
gives off the Carb-diox. and takes in oxygen. They both belong to the rhythmic
middle realm between the polarities of head and abdomen, or root and
blossom.
In the fungi this polarity is not established, flowering fruiting have,
as it were, collapsed into the root or perhaps better stated, have not yet
emancipated themselves.
In Stict. this middle realm is provided by the algal part of the
symbiosis. We know that lichen which are particularly hardy in respect of
climatic extremes, are particularly sensitive to atmospheric pollution. They
are indeed
used as indicators of this pollution. The lichens therefore seem to be
particularly sensitive to the realm which the fungi alone do not care about,
the realm of air and light.
Antibiotics: Pen. An ever increasing variety of these substances are
available/used in controlling bacterial infections/inflammations. Their action
against bacteria is based on similarities in their metabolic processes,
competition between them resulting in blocking the bacterial growth.
This is of course a homeopathic action on a very selective narrow front.
Looking at the problems more broadly, from the periphery towards the center
rather than from the center outwards. On and around the roots, in the
soil, flourish the vast multitude of fungi, devoid of chlorophyll.
Vorwort/Suchen Zeichen/Abkürzungen Impressum