Abstract
The use of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) was first described in China in
the 4th century by Ge Hong when “yellow soup,” a fecal slurry, was administered for
the treatment of severe food poisoning and diarrhea, a practice that continued for
centuries. Bedouin groups also consumed stools of their camels as a remedy for dysentery.
FMT was also applied in veterinary medicine in Europe in the 16th century. Additional
therapeutic use of human excretions was described in Europe in the 18th and 19th century
and in World War II, when gut bacteria were administered to German soldiers suffering
from dysentery in the North African campaign. More scientifically, Eismann, in 1958,
utilized fecal transplantation via enema in 4 patients for the treatment of severe
pseudomembranous colitis with success. Following this report a number of isolated
cases were published describing the use of FMT by different delivery routes for the
treatment of a variety of illnesses.
Key Indexing Terms
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 04, 2018
Accepted:
August 22,
2018
Received:
August 22,
2018
Footnotes
Conflicts of Interest: Joshua Stripling: None. Martin Rodriguez: Research support Finch Therapeutics, Syneos Health, Seres Therapeutics.
Funding: None
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
