Part 7 of our series, "Understanding SANUM Therapy."
This article is educational in nature and does not replace personalised medical advice. If you are managing a health condition, please consult a qualified practitioner.
Farmers have used hay infusions to treat sick cattle for generations, without ever knowing why they worked. It took until 1887 for Metchnikoff to describe the growth-inhibiting effect of aerobic soil bacteria — Bacillus subtilis chief among them — against pathogens including streptococci, staphylococci, salmonella and even Mycobacterium tuberculosis. That folk observation, formalised into laboratory science, is the origin point of the second great pillar of the SANUM range: the immunobiological preparations of the bacterial phase.
A Different Mechanism From the Fungal Chondritins
Where the fungal Chondritin preparations we explored earlier in this series work isopathically — offering the body a species-identical, low-valenced form of an organism to support its own return to symbiotic balance — the bacterial-phase immunobiological preparations work somewhat differently. They contain diverse fractions of various bacterial species, such as cellular extracts and cell wall fragments of polysaccharides, prepared in homeopathic potencies from especially suitable, carefully cultivated strains. Their purpose is to regulate the course of a physical immune reaction and to raise the immune system's own capacity for response through nonspecific stimulation — influencing diverse sub-populations of lymphoid and phagocytosing cells that take part in immune function, and indirectly contributing to the structuring of humoral antibodies.
Bacillus Species: From Hay Infusion to Clinical Remedy
The first reports of oral, subcutaneous and intravenous application of Bacillus subtilis strains, with genuinely outstanding therapeutic results, came from the original SANUM company in 1938 and 1939 — with particular effectiveness noted against certain pseudotubercular presentations. The general stimulating effect on the body's nonspecific defensive capacity was already apparent in these early years of what became known as Subtilis Therapy, and the name Utilin® has been protected as a trademark for this remedy since 1939.
Closely related Bacillus strains later found their own place in therapy under the names Latensin®, derived from Bacillus cereus, and Recarcin®, derived from Bacillus firmus. Clinically, preparations built from Bacillus species have shown particularly good results in recurring diseases of the urinary tract and respiratory organs, in patients with defective immune situations, in food allergies, and in other chronic conditions linked to reduced immune status.
Mycobacteria: A Gentler Alternative to BCG
Mycobacteria and their cell wall fragments produce a strong stimulation of the T-cell system, inducing cellular defence reactions that have been used therapeutically, among other applications, in tumour disease. The therapy built around Utilin® "S" and Bovisan® traces back historically to Professor Friedmann's use of mycobacteria for pulmonary tuberculosis in the 1920s — an outstanding therapy that worked similarly to the officially sanctioned BCG inoculation, but without its occasional serious side effects. Friedmann's original preparation was further developed by the former SANUM company into an equally effective preparation from a special strain of Mycobacterium phlei (Utilin "S"), while Bovisan carries the immunostimulating properties of mycobacterial cell wall fragments derived from Mycobacterium bovis.
"Preparations with Bacillus species have manifold immunostimulating effects... they are able to regulate the course of a physical immune reaction and to raise the immune system's capacity for response through their nonspecific stimulation."
Corynebacteria and Propionibacteria: A Second Research Lineage
A parallel line of research runs through the work of Dr von Brehmer (1883–1958), a contemporary of Enderlein who, while examining an accidentally received human blood sample, discovered partly moving, partly immobile microorganisms he named Siphonospora polymorpha — work that provided further independent proof for Enderlein's own publications on pleomorphism and cyclogeny, released at almost the same time. Von Brehmer went on to develop preparations from bacterial cultures related to this organism, later purified and identified by SANUM-Kehlbeck as Propionibacteria and Corynebacteria species, now forming the basis of Arthrokehlan® "A", a formol toxoid of Propionibacterium acnes, and Arthrokehlan® "U", a formol toxoid of a related Corynebacterium species.
The activation of the monocyte-macrophage system is a general characteristic of the Propionibacterium species, with antibacterial, antiviral, antiparasitic and antitumoral actions among the results described. This has been particularly closely examined in the strain Propionibacterium avidum, whose stimulatory effects on the haematopoietic system have qualified it for use in immune therapy specifically for supporting patients through the myelosuppressive side effects of cytostatic or radiation therapy — the basis for Leptucin®.
Reactions Are Part of the Process
Because these preparations work by actively engaging the immune system rather than passively supporting terrain, local and general reactions are considered a normal and even desirable feature of treatment, within limits. A local reaction after injection at the site of disease — increased discharge, increased pain, softening of a chronic focus — is understood as a sign that the remedy is working. Undesirable reactions, by contrast, are always taken as a sign the applied dosage was too high, prompting a reduction rather than discontinuation. General reactions such as headache, dizziness, weariness or a rise in body temperature tend to resolve within twelve hours without special treatment, at which point therapy is typically continued at a lower dose.
Having covered the bacterial-phase preparations that stimulate immune response directly, the next article turns to a related but distinct mechanism: the Sanukehl range, and the haptenic therapy principle that helps the body recognise pathogens and toxins it would otherwise miss entirely.
Featured products
Latensin®
Bacillus cereus preparation for recurring urinary and respiratory conditions.
Leptucin®
Propionibacterium avidum preparation supporting the haematopoietic system.
Explore the full Sanum range — isopathic, immunobiological and terrain-support preparations built on Enderlein's original research.
Not sure which remedy is right for you?
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Related reading
- Restoring the Terrain: Acid-Base Balance with Alkala, Citrokehl and Sanuvis
- Sanukehl and Haptenic Therapy: Helping the Body Recognise Hidden Pathogens
- The 4-Step Werthmann Protocol: How a Full SANUM Programme Is Built
Source: SANUM-Kehlbeck Practitioner Reference Guide, "The Immunobiological Preparations from the Bacterial Phase" and "Origin and Development of the Immunobiological Preparations."
Tags: Sanum Articles, Understanding SANUM Therapy, Immunomodulation, Bacterial Preparations