Yoghurt Wards Off Ulcer Bug

[Guest guest]

Yoghurt Wards Off Ulcer Bug

by Spinney

Milk fermented with a bacterium widely used in dairies eliminates

Helicobacter pylori, a Canadian researcher told the 100th meeting of the

American Society for Microbiology in Los Angeles. If the finding is confirmed in

clinical trials, a yogurt drink could replace expensive antibiotics as a

treatment for gastritis and peptic ulcers.

In the last decade, H. pylori has increasingly been acknowledged as the

causative factor for gastric and peptic ulcers. It is also linked to the

development of some forms of stomach cancer. Half the population of the

developing world is infected, as is one in five people in North America. In

Brazil, the figure is as high as 80 percent in certain populations.

Currently, H. pylori infection is treated with antibiotics, but these

drugs can be expensive and there may be side-effects. Worse, H. pylori is

becoming resistant to many of them, particularly to metronidazole and

clarythromycin. So, food scientist Chitra Wendakoon and her colleague Lech

Ozimek at the University of Alberta in Edmonton have been looking for

food-derived alternatives.

Wendakoon picked six strains of the bacterium Lactobacillus casei and

added them separately to skimmed milk, allowing it to ferment overnight to make

yogurt. She then separated the coagulated part from the liquid fraction, or

supernatant, and screened both for their ability to inhibit H. pylori. Wendakoon

also tested the unseparated fermented milk, L. Casei on its own, and finally, L.

casei that had been killed by heat treatment.

The whole fermented milk showed the most effective elimination of H.

pylori, while neither live nor dead cells alone had any effect. That suggested

that some protein produced in the whole milk through the fermentation process

was the active ingredient.

In further experiments, Wendakoon was able to enhance the antibiotic

effect of the whole fermented milk by adding to it a proteolytic enzyme,

proteinase K or trypsin, which cut the active ingredient into smaller peptides.

" Right now I'm trying to separate those fractions and to find out their

structure and what they're doing " , she says. Wendakoon also added the enzyme to

the supernatant, which previously had shown no effect, and generated a strong

inhibition of H. pylori.

Wendakoon and Ozimek have tested commercially available yogurts for their

ability to inhibit H. pylori, and found them to be largely ineffective. They now

plan to create a 'cocktail yogurt' containing the most active peptides from the

L. casei fermentation process. This is soon to be tested over a 2-week treatment

period in clinical trials. If it proves effective, says Wendakoon, the cocktail

could provide a cheap and painless alternative to antibiotic treatment for H.

pylori infection.

Contact Chitra Wendakoon at cwendako@...

Day 4

Profiles

Rudolf Thauer

Reports

Dampening The Immune Response Could Be Ebola Virus' Achilles Heel

by Dan Ferber

Life: But Not As We Know It

by Spinney

Yoghurt Wards Off Ulcer Bug

by Spinney

How Do Bacteria Know Where They Are?

by Pete

Soil Methane On The Increase

by Pete

Lean Yeast Live For Longer

by Spinney

Transgenic Corn is Extra Tough Stuff

by Rabiya Tuma

Bad Bugs On Good Sprouts

by Dan Ferber

[Guest guest]

Connie

Thanks for the information. I always have like yogurt!LOL

Lots of Love

Glenda

---

Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.

Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).

Version: 6.0.251 / Virus Database: 124 - Release Date: 4/26/2001

[Guest guest]

Connie, thanks for the great info. I like yoghurt, but know I should really

be eating more. (Yoghurt that is. )LOL

Great to hear from you. Let us know how you are doing.

hugs

[Guest guest]

Connie, thanks for the great article. Now that I'm on the Biaxin I am taking

all the stuff I should with it... AND eating yoghurt. Thanks again.

hugs

[Guest guest]

Dear , I also have problems with Biaxin, didn't work for me and gave

me yeast infections. Doctor switched to Ceftin, no problems then...Good

luck...Sue

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 6/4/01 6:41:53 AM Pacific Daylight Time, grandm4@...

writes:

<< Dear , I also have problems with Biaxin, didn't work for me and

gave

me yeast infections. Doctor switched to Ceftin, no problems then...Good

luck...Sue

>>

Sue, so far I'm having really good luck on Biaxin. I'm taking probotics that

Connie H recommended and am feeling good so far. Have seen some improvement

in the swelling in my hands. I know it will be a long haul, but am going to

stick with it if it keeps me off metho or Imuran. Was able to decrease pred

again today. Am now down to 13mg. Hopefully soon will be off. I know this

will be a slow process, but am looking forward to getting the dose way down.

Glad you found something to work for you. Gosh it's so weird that we all

have the same disease and are all so different when it comes to meds. Guess

that's why we have the doctors so confused. LOL

Hope you had a good day.

hugs