Analysis of the Tropism and Anti-Bacterial Potential of a Type of Clay

Natural clays have been used by man in infections of bacterial etiology, since the first historical registers. Our attention turned to a red-colored clay, known in the northeast of Brazil as “barro de louça” (dish clay). These clays and other natural earth materials seem interesting to us, as the blockage of the liberation of toxins or inactivation, may be related to the interruption of infection cycles in the skin and mucous membranes. The adsorptive and absorptive properties of the mineral clays are well documented in the cure process of skin and gastrointestinal diseases. Susceptibility and bacterial tropism tests were carried out. The results were analyzed and interpreted according to the conventional microbiological protocol. The bacterial strains, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli e Pseudomonas aeruginosa, did not present a susceptibility profile to an isotonic solution of clay, but there was an increase of the bacterial tropism as the concentration of the isotonic solution was increased, being the minimal observed concentration of 100 mg/mL. Our aim is to document a type of red clay from the northeast of Brazil with possible attraction properties (Tropism) to bacteria and their toxins.