Ancient Roman medicine used human waste to fight infections with modern efficiency
Ancient Roman physicians utilized human waste to treat infections, employing natural antimicrobial properties that modern lab tests show can be ten times more effective than certain contemporary antibiotics.
Archaeological analysis of a 1,900-year-old glass vial from Turkey has revealed that Roman doctors used human excrement, known as 'luto,' to create potent medicinal elixirs. These treatments leveraged beneficial bacteria like Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, which produce antimicrobial peptides. In modern laboratory settings, these ancient components have proven to be ten times more effective at combating pathogens than some current antibiotics.
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