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Microbes & Immunity Probiotics from ancient wisdom to modern days

While some expired probiotics retained viability, in the rubbish, flushing them into the sewer system,
the total counts in this research were mostly below the or returning them to pharmacies. Aggregating the
recommended effective dose, suggesting that consuming data for Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands under
expired probiotics may not provide the intended health “Europe,” and for the United States of America (USA)
benefits. Therefore, it is crucial to follow storage guidelines and England under “English” for comparison, the average
and use probiotics before their expiration dates to ensure rates of disposal by rubbish and return to the pharmacy
their effectiveness. – approximated from the chart data in the study – are as
follows:
2.5. Disposal of unused medication • Disposal by rubbish by “English” was 43% against
Improper disposal of unused medication poses several “Europe” at 6%
significant risks: • Disposal by return to pharmacy by “Europe” was 56%
• Environmental contamination: Flushing medications against “English” at 27%.
down the toilet or discarding them in the rubbish While the “English” group heavily favors disposing
can contaminate water supplies and soil. Wastewater of rubbish, the “Europe” group prefers returning it to
treatment plants are often not designed to remove pharmacies. This reflects a significant cultural difference
pharmaceutical chemicals, resulting in their release in disposal practices, suggesting that the “English” group
into the environment, where they may harm aquatic may lack convenient pharmacy return programs or that
life, disrupt ecosystems, and pose risks to human people are not aware of them. In contrast, pharmacy-
health through contaminated drinking water. based disposal appears to be the dominant method in the
• Accidental poisoning: Unsecured and improperly “Europe” group. This difference could have implications
disposed medications can be easily accessed by for environmental concerns (e.g., landfill issues and public
children and pets, resulting in accidental poisoning health), as improperly disposed medications pose a risk.
with serious health consequences, including It highlights a potential area for improvement in England
hospitalization and even death. Even seemingly and the USA.
harmless over-the-counter medications can be
dangerous in the wrong hands or when overdosed. 3. History of probiotics
• Antibiotic resistance: Improper disposal contributes
to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. When The use of fermented foods for health purposes dates back
antibiotics are released into the environment, they to ancient civilizations. For example, Egyptians consumed
can promote the development of antibiotic-resistant fermented milk products, such as yogurt, whereas Chinese
25,26
bacteria, making infections harder to treat and posing people consumed fermented soybean. These practices
a serious threat to public health. were likely driven by empirical observations of the health
• Drug abuse: Unused medications left unsecured in benefits associated with consuming fermented foods. The
homes can be a source of drug abuse, particularly term “probiotic” was first introduced by Elie Metchnikoff,
among teenagers and young adults, potentially leading who hypothesized that consuming bacteria from yogurt
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to addiction, overdose, and other serious health could promote longevity.
problems. The discovery of antibiotics during and after World
• Ineffective medication: Improper storage, such as in War I and World War II led to a temporary shift away from
humid or hot environments, can degrade medications, the focus on probiotics, with some exceptions. Over the
making them less effective or even harmful, even if decades, the term “probiotics” was redefined by various
they are still within their use-by dates. The improper scientists to refer specifically to beneficial live microbial
disposal of such degraded medications still carries the supplements. 28
risks mentioned above. The contribution of Elie Metchnikoff cannot be
• Financial waste: Unused and expired medications understated, as we recall his Messina story: While his
represent a financial waste for individuals and health- family was at the circus, Metchnikoff, being alone with his
care systems. This waste can be reduced through better microscope, observed motile cells in a starfish larva. He
medication management and adherence to prescribed theorized that these cells could defend against invaders,
regimens.
such as a splinter in a finger. He immediately tested this by
A study assessed the accumulation of waste around the inserting rose thorns into the larva. The next morning, he
world caused by poor pharmaceutical disposal practices. excitedly found that the motile cells had surrounded the
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Their data tables categorize disposal habits across various thorns, proving his hypothesis. This Messina experiment
countries, distinguishing between discarding medications became the foundation for his theory of phagocytosis

Volume 2 Issue 3 (2025) 35 doi: 10.36922/mi.6424