eCAM: Darwin and Metchnikoff

Darwin and Metchnikoff exerted prescient influences on biology and medicine. Is this seemingly an unlikely pair to be juxtaposed and mentioned in a journal devoted to evidence-based complementary medicine? I think not. I will try and persuade you from a few viewpoints why I accord them this place. First, it seems essential that all biologists, biomedical specialists and everyone, with a general cultural awareness, should at least recognize their names (surely Darwin!). Second, for the biologists, Darwin is even more familiar since this is his year, the 150th anniversary of the publication of On Origin of Species (disciplines embraced: genetics, evolution, ecology, ethology, anthropology and natural history). He is receiving well-deserved coverage in mass media and scientific publications; even in eCAM, there is an invited peer-reviewed commentary on his experimentation with homeopathy (1). Darwin also authored a book on the behavior of earthworms (2) so very popular with fisherman but of really greater significance to ancient medical practices as related to inflammation. Earthworms are referred to as DiLong in the compendium of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and they are essential in Ayerveda (3) and Kampo (4). Metchnikoff is similarly prescient for biologists [disciplines embraced are embryogenesis, inflammation, immunity, aging, pathology and philosophy (5,6)]. Metchnikoff also did experiments on himself as guinea pig with alternative therapies, especially in his quest to defer aging; he was an adherent of probiotics (7). When we think of Darwin, his famous voyage on The Beagle comes to mind, along with his observations of birds on the Galapagos Islands. No one ever brings up or even knows about the time that he spent studying earthworms. Early on in his career, the work on earthworms occupied him as much as or even more than his perseverance and contributions to the question of evolution. His analyses of earthworms resulted in the publication in 1881 of his book, The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms, with Observations on their Habits (2,8). Apparently it sold as many copies or even more than On the Origin of Species. Although not consistent, there were two phases of his career devoted to earthworms, only temporarily interrupted by his quest to understand evolution. His work on these earthly dwellers was viewed by many as seminal, since much of our world did not focus on ecological and agricultural advantages they afforded. Of course, this Eurocentric view neglected the place that earthworms occupied as antecedents of certain CAM practices, i.e. their role in ancient medical practices (9). A revival is under way, but with a view toward indicating the role of earthworms. Our quest for more solid evidence is crucial, if this discipline is to advance and flourish. Metchnikoff’s work, especially on marine creatures, figured prominently in laying the ground work for the relatively unexplored area of bioprospecting first published in eCAM by Müller et al. (10), later extended by Cooper (11–13) and Nigam et al. (14). Nobel prize-winning Russian zoologist Elie Metchnikoff is the first basic scientist who explored the first-hand possible benefits of fermented foods to health. His inspiration came from observations that Bulgarians had an average lifespan of 90 years, an exceptional age for the early 1900s. Moreover, four of every thousand lived past 100 years of age. One possible clue was their significant differences in diet, i.e. they consumed large amounts of fermented milks. In another group looked at more recently, the famous Hunzas of Kashmir and the Georgians (formerly of the Soviet Union) have For reprints and all correspondence: Edwin L. Cooper, Laboratory of Comparative Neuroimmunology, Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1763, USA. Tel: þ1 310 825 9567; Fax: þ1 310 825 2224; E-mail: [email protected] eCAM 2009;6(4)421–422 doi:10.1093/ecam/nep194