There is evidence suggesting that ancient Egyptians used moldy bread, specifically containing a type of mold called Penicillium, as an early form of antibiotic.
There is evidence suggesting that ancient Egyptians used moldy bread, specifically containing a type of mold called Penicillium, as an early form of antibiotic.
Important to note, Penicillium mold is not Penicillin. Bread commonly available in modern grocery stores is often not made the same way as back then, and will be growing and carrying other pathogens which you don’t want to be getting into an open wound. Penicillin, the modern medicine, is highly processed, and impossible to manufacture without what amounts to a laboratory.
They covered this a bit, at the end of the article:
I got interested in how to make my own modem medicines because there’s a nonzero chance I’ll need to know how in my lifetime, so learning how hard it is to refine was a great disappointment.