Worms As Medicine

For centuries earthworms have been used as a protein rich food and a medicine to treat heart disease and pulmonary illnesses in parts of Asia. Earthworms offer unanticipated potential health benefits without common drawbacks that come with other biological, alternative forms of medicine such as cost, ethical and pathological concerns of animal testing.

The earthworm's evolution of maintaining soil and living among rotting organic matter has caused it to build itself an extraordinary immune system. Earthworms have developed symbiotic relationships with beneficial soil microbes that protect it from disease as well as developing it's own anti-pathogenic proteins.

Considering the fact that the majority of the immunologists all over the world are focused on the mammalian or particularly human immunology, it may sound surprising that invertebrates—and among others earthworms—have been an important experimental model since the very beginning of immunology.

An extract from the earthworm Eisenia fetida has been shown to inhibit the activity of influenza and adenoviruses. Coelomic fluid of Eisenia fetida also inhibits the growth of many plant pathogens like Fusarium oxysporum and their castings a reduction in damage from plant parasitic nematodes.

.Scientists in Poland believe the digestive fluid that helps worms be able to safely consume any microorganism could one day be used to treat lung cancer.Initial research has been showing promising results.

With all these emerging potentials of worms as medicine, and as a relatively cheap source of protein, it may well be time for our "advanced" western civilizations to reconsider the ICK factor around earthworms. Will you embrace the lowly worm as a cure? as an entree at a fancy restaurant?

Earthworm fluid destroys lung cancer cells in lab | Reuters.com

https://www.reuters.com/video/2017/10/23/earthworm-fluid-destroys-lung-cancer-cel?videoId=372798974

Earthworm Immunity - Madame Curie Bioscience Database - NCBI Bookshelf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK45034/ Martin Bilej, Petra Procházková, Marcela Šilerová, Radka Josková

Potential of actinomycetes isolated from earthworm castings in controlling root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita | SpringerLink

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10327-015-0637-4

Revising lysenin expression of earthworm coelomocytes - ScienceDirect

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0145305X12002601

An extract from the earthworm Eisenia fetida non-specifically inhibits the activity of influenza and adenoviruses - ScienceDirect

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0254627213600886

Inhibitory effect of earthworm coelomic fluid on growth of the plant parasitic fungus Fusarium oxysporum - ScienceDirect

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1164556316302321