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Unraveling the antibacterial mode of action of a clay from the Colombian Amazon

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Abstract

Natural antibacterial clays can inhibit growth of human pathogens; therefore, understanding the antibacterial mode of action may lead to new applications for health. The antibacterial modes of action have shown differences based on mineralogical constraints. Here we investigate a natural clay from the Colombian Amazon (AMZ) known to the Uitoto natives as a healing clay. The physical and chemical properties of the AMZ clay were compared to standard reference materials: smectite (SWy-1) and kaolinite (API #5) that represent the major minerals in AMZ. We tested model Gram-negative (Escherichia coli ATCC #25922) and Gram-positive (Bacillus subtilis ATCC #6633) bacteria to assess the clay’s antibacterial effectiveness against different bacterial types. The chemical and physical changes in the microbes were examined using bioimaging and mass spectrometry of clay digests and aqueous leachates. Results indicate that a single dose of AMZ clay (250 mg/mL) induced a 4–6 order of magnitude reduction in cell viability, unlike the reference clays that did not impact bacterial survival. AMZ clay possesses a relatively high specific surface area (51.23 m2/g) and much higher total surface area (278.82 m2/g) than the reference clays. In aqueous suspensions (50 mg clay/mL water), soluble metals are released and the minerals buffer fluid pH between 4.1 and 4.5. We propose that the clay facilitates chemical interactions detrimental to bacteria by absorbing nutrients (e.g., Mg, P) and potentially supplying metals (e.g., Al) toxic to bacteria. This study demonstrates that native traditional knowledge can direct scientific studies.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation Grant EAR 112393 to LW, the Administrative Department of Science, Technology and Innovation in Colombia, Colciencias as well as the Clay Minerals Society and the Geological Society of America student Grants to SCL. We thank Professor Rajeev Misra and Amisha Poret-Peterson for their assistance and guidance in microbiology. Thanks to David Lowry (TEM), Keith Morrison (XRF), Panjai Prapaipong, Stephen Romaniello, Gwyneth Williams (ICP-MS), and John Mardinly (EDS) for their technical support at Arizona State University, and Sharon Walker at UC Riverside for discussions of DLVO data. We gratefully acknowledge the use of facilities within the LeRoy Eyring center for Solid State Science at Arizona State University. The authors sincerely thank the late Vicente Makuritofe (Uitoto cultural expert) and his family for their collaboration and contribution to this work.

Ethical standard

The results of this study were communicated and explained to the Uitoto traditional authority from which the authors received the sample with permission to study it. No monetary benefit has been generated, and the clay is Uitoto’s property. This study shows that certain cultural-based practices have a scientific basis.

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  1. School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1404, USA

    Sandra Carolina Londono & Lynda B. Williams

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  1. Sandra Carolina Londono
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Correspondence to Sandra Carolina Londono.

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Online Resources 1. Composition of the Luria Broth growth medium (5 g/L) without clay (LB) and incubated with AMZ clay for 24 h to produce an LB leachate. The concentrations reported in Table 5 are the result of LB–LB leachate. SD standard deviation of duplicates. (DOCX 12 kb)

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Londono, S.C., Williams, L.B. Unraveling the antibacterial mode of action of a clay from the Colombian Amazon. Environ Geochem Health 38, 363–379 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-015-9723-y

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