Exploring aquatic sources in search of future antibiotics-Fight against drug resistance in bacteria

Man cohabits with billions of other living creatures, tiny, small or big numbering trillions and trillions. Some of them are visible to the naked eyes while extremely small microorganisms cannot be seen with out the help of powerful microscopes. The living environment is full of viruses, bacteria and fungi, most of them being benign and pose not much hazard to human life. But a small fraction of them can cause infection in human body which if not treated with antibacterial or bacteriostatic drugs can be very harmful and in many cases become fatal. Antibiotics, several in number, discovered in nineteen twenty eight starting with Penicillin, are the front line of defence against pathogenic microorganisms. However over use  and misuse of these antibiotics during the lat 6 decades have created an unenviable situation where many pathogens are developing resistance against the killing power of these wonder chemicals. Why?

The major culprits are indifferent physicians who prescribe antibiotics at the "drop of a hat" to most patients coming to them whether actually needed or not and the animal feed industry which incorporates these antibiotics in small amounts in their products for better growth of cattle and poultry birds. Constant exposure through the meat products carrying the antibiotic residues and over exposure through physicians' frequent prescription created opportunities to microorganisms to evolve mechanisms to overcome the lethal effect of antibiotic drugs over a period of time. Imagine how insensitive the animal food industry in a country like America could be considering that more than 80% of available antibiotics are used by the feed industry in that country during the last few years. This malpractice is spreading to other countries also thus expanding the dangers posed by antibiotic resistant super bugs in creating havoc with human lives. How to deal with this precarious and fast emerging situation that can be a threat to humanity?

Pharmaceutical industry is lagging behind in developing newer generation antibiotics, possibly because of the huge investments required to see through the process of testing and safety clearance while government led research investments are practically non-existent. We owe to many Universities and academic institutions for the scientific strides made by scientists and scholars in discovering new approaches in dealing with air-borne, water-borne and food-borne diseases working in different parts of the world.  One such area is discovery of Antimicrobial Peptides ( AMP) which were shown to have bactericidal, virucidal and fungicidal properties that can compliment the strength of current biotics and counter act the ability of pathogens to develop resistance. AMPs are short chain peptides containing 12-50 amino acids and mostly contain 2 or more positively charged residues provided by arginine, lysine and histidine. Besides they also contain hydrophobic residues to the extent of more than 50% of the chain length.They are derived from a variety of sources including humans, insects, amphibians, fish, pigs, cattle, crabs, fruit flies etc. But how feasible it is to manufacture them economically and logistically?

From whatever is known about these unique biological molecules, it is clear that scientifically they can counter act many micro vectors efficiently without causing any resistance in the invading species. Initial contact between the host surface and the vector takes place electrostatically as bacterial surfaces are anionic in nature. AMPs target the cytoplasmic membrane besides interfering with DNA synthesis, proteins synthesis and folding and cell wall synthesis resulting in a catastrophe leading to their death. One major limitation could be presence of cholesterol in human cells which makes them less reactive with invading vectors. However ribosomally synthesised peptides, unlike their non-ribosomally made ones are least prone to create drug resistance. Examples are Gramicidin, Bacitracin, Polymyxin and Vancomycin which are increasingly becoming popular as antibiotic alternatives. How can these peptide molecules be made commercially available? 

AMPs are present in almost all higher forms of living creatures in the dermis and they form the first line of defence against invaders when infection takes place. That is why they can be extracted from almost all of them including humans. However from a practical view point for a sustained supply of any product of uniform quality a reliable source needs to be identified. Recent works by a few scientific groups have identified aquatic creatures as a good source from which highly efficient AMPs can be made in a sustainable way. Gills in most fish species have AMPs that give protection to them against water borne infections while water is filtered through these gills for breathing. Each fish species secretes AMPs with different structural features offering a vast range for selection regarding their effectiveness against different species. Some of the fish species from which AMPs have be recovered and studies include Rainbow Trout, Carp, Winter Flounder, American Halibut, Atlantic Salmon, Zebra Fish, Puffer Fish, Tilapia and a few others. Diversity of genomic sequence encoding fish AMPs has been extensively studied and they can be a sustainable source for synthetic recombinant AMP products for use by therapeutic industry eventually. 

Recently progress has been made in bonding fish derived AMPs to Silicone, Gold and Silver surfaces so that the latter can be used in designing highly effective therapeutic applications in human beings. In transplantation and organ repair surgeries such coated surfaces can preempt contamination. and post surgical complications. Heart valve replacements or stent implants can also have such coatings for which further application studies are called for. As for direct use in human beings in place of current antibiotics, delivery mode has to be worked out for the AMPs to attack the invading organisms at the affected cites. Exciting developments in fish AMPs can be expected in the coming years and there is hope that the current antibiotic resistance among pathogens can be dealt with through fish AMPs.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

ANTIBIOTICS IN CHICKEN-THE RUDDERLESS INDIAN FOOD AUTHORITY!

The reported presence of antibiotic residues in Chicken meat being sold in Kerala has raised alarming bells regarding the danger it poses to the citizens. It is known that this practice of using antibiotics is in vogue in the US and the government there woke up to the dangers to the consumer only recently, taking action belatedly because of the realization about the widespread development of resistance among humans to such commonly used antibiotics when administered during infections. If dreaded MRSA and similar monster bugs have emerged posing imposing challenges to treat diseases caused by them, the sole reason is indiscriminate use of antibiotics. No one would have imagined that such a situation would emerge in India too as most poultry farms are small in size and the farmers are not well versed with such technological aids for boosting the yield and provide added protection to the product sold in the market. It seems this hope was belied by the latest cases reported from Trivandrum in Kerala. 

The meat industry in the US has been using several antibiotics in feeds and water which can raise the yield of meat very significantly, about 3%. Added to this presence of these antibiotics in the meat extracted from such animals can have better microbiological quality during storage, transit and retailing. It is scandalous that more than 80% of antibiotics marketed in the US, amounting to about 8 million kgs, is used by the meat industry involving Cows, Pigs and Chicken. While there are no two views regarding the efficacy of sub-therapeutic doses of antibiotics in making the animals plumber and fatter, the mechanism as to how this happens is still a mystery. It is believed by many that the antibiotics, once ingested by the animal, works in the intestine to reduce the population of microflora, increasing the overall feed efficiency and nutrient absorption. Interestingly the problem regarding the adverse consequences of use of antibiotics was raised from time to time but industry resisted any government intervention with its political clout for more than 2 decades. Even now the action being initiated in the US to eliminate use of antibiotics in meat industry is more a half hearted measure and assuming the ban will be agreed upon it will not kick in before 3 years after approval of the measure! 

While antibiotic use in feeds are based on the assumption that meat yield is increased, what is forgotten is that Salmonella, bacteria one of the most ubiquitous pathogens found in more than 40% of meat produced in the US, can develop resistance to antibiotics like Pencillin, Azethromycin and Tetracycline when used in sub-therapeutic doses and most cases of food poisoning in that country are caused by this dreaded bacteria. If the ban on use of antibiotics is eventually enforced, farmers will need prescription by a veterinarian justifying their use for treating only animal diseases. What such a ban can do to the Pharma industry is a big question and they also have tremendous lobbying clout and it is to be seen whether they will sit idle watching their fortunes dipping on account of the shrinking market for their products.

In the Trivandrum case reported, the authorities concerned picked up the samples and got them tested by an accredited laboratory outside the state implying the unreliability of the local laboratories! It is not clear whether the presence of antibiotics was on the surface of the meat or in the meat itself raising further questions regarding this episode. Could it be that the meat dealers have dusted or used antibiotic spray on the surface only or whether antibiotic solution was injected into the meat? What is intriguing is that the Official responsible for food safety in the state washed off his hands saying no action could be taken because the sampling was not done properly! In any other country there would have been raids in the premises of the dealers and seizure of the entire stock. This episode comes close on the heels of a report in Kerala where large quantities raw meat products, more than one year old were found to be brought into the state by traders for sale there! For a highly perishable product like meat to stay stable without any sign of mold, fungus and other microbial vectors, they must have been treated with tons of antibiotics and chemicals and imagine the consequences of consuming such products on the health of the consumer! 

Is it not sad that even after detecting the presence in some of the samples analyzed, the representative of FSSAI expressed his helplessness to take any action hiding under technical and legal excuses? Can such a thing would happen any where else in the world where health of the citizen is paramount importance, over riding all other considerations? It is time FSSAI realizes that by touting its "Authority" without the teeth to bite can result in such a situation where thieves caught red handed are allowed to go free unharmed and unpunished! How can the citizens repose faith and trust in this organization to protect them from food criminals who rule the roost with no fear? 

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

UNUSUAL TREATMENT FOR UNUSUALY STUBBORN DISEASES-FECAL TRANSPLANT

In spite of enormous strides made by medical science, there are still a few diseases which defy standard treatment protocols. Use of antibiotics which are widely available with different efficiency can control most of the infectious diseases caused by different pathogens though its over use is reported to be causing the so called antibiotic resistance among people leaving fewer options to the physicians to treat them. Added to this problem is the tendency of the meat industry to use some of the antibiotics in the feeds to facilitate the growth of food animals which practice indirectly increases the exposure of consumers to these life saving wonder drugs. Infection by Clostridium difficile can be serious for many and most strains are not amenable to antibiotic therapy and development of an unusual treatment regime, reported recently involves fecal transplant from healthy persons to the one suffering from infection by this pathogenic bug. 

C.difficile is gram positive bacteria which has been found to cause difficult to cure intestinal disease. It is not yet known where these bugs flourish though hospitals and nursing homes are the usual places from where infection is transmitted.  Interestingly fecal matter of some individuals are reported to contain this microbe in significant numbers and therefore any surface coming in contact with fecal matter can be vulnerable to C.difficile infection. Only few persons harbor the bacteria in their guts along with others, most of them beneficial. As this is a spore forming bacteria, it is resistant to most bactericidal techniques and stay put for long time with the capacity to regenerate under favorable conditions. For example those who get exposed to C.difficile, ingest the spores which go through the acidic condition of the stomach unaffected to become active once they gain entry into the intestine. The million dollar question is why only some people are vulnerable to C.difficile rampage while a large majority are safe from this dreadful disease?

Even though C.difficile present in some people does not exert any ill effect probably due to the overwhelming numbers of other bacterial species present in the intestine which do not allow this pathogen to grow in sufficient numbers to produce the toxins that produce the typical disease symptoms. C.difficile infection when become evident causes bloated stomach and severe diarrhea, leading to "toxic megacolon" and can be fatal in many cases. In the US alone over 14000 people die because of this disease. One of the observations of some significance is that C.difficile infection assumes serious health problem mostly in persons who are administered repeated antibiotic doses which destroy the natural flora in the GI tract allowing C.difficile to assume critical population density necessary for the manifestation of the typical symptoms. The age old practice of replenishing the natural bacterial population after antibiotic treatment by good physicians is based on this perception that there is such a need to protect the gut health adversely affected by the antibiotic administration.  

Metronedazole, Vancomycin and Fedaxomycin are last line of defense to control the rampage of this pathogen though all the infected patients do not respond to them equally. C.difficile, because of its spore forming capacity can pass through the highly acidic environment of the stomach without any damage to it and once it reaches the intestine where conditions are favorable for "sprouting' of the spores into vegetative phase of growth the deadly toxins are produced with the attendant consequences. While debating about the ability of C.difficile to gain entry into human digestive tract, it is believed that lack of personal hygiene and poor sanitation practices are primarily responsible for introducing them into the environment like that exists in some hospitals and nursing homes where they can stay for long time in their spore form, waiting to be transferred to all and sundry who come in contact with surfaces so contaminated. Food industry is vulnerable to C.difficile contamination as most detergents and sanitizers are not effective in killing them. Chlorine is one of the few bactericidal agents found to be able to control the C.difficile population in food processing facilities.    

According to some recent studies transplanting feces from a healthy person into the gut of one who is sick can quickly cure severe intestinal infections caused by C.difficile. Such transplants appear to have cured almost 95% of the patients studied so far who had recurring infections with C. difficile bacteria. In contrast antibiotics could cure only less than 25% of the infected patients  The treatment appears to work by restoring the gut's normal balance of bacteria, which fight off C. difficile. Fecal transplants have been used sporadically for years as a last resort to fight this stubborn and debilitating infection. Worldwide, about 500 people with the C.difficile infection have had fecal transplantation. It involves diluting stool with a liquid, like salt water, and then pumping it into the intestinal tract via an enema, a colonoscope or a tube run through the nose into the stomach or small intestine. Stool can contain hundreds or even thousands of types of bacteria, and researchers do not yet know which ones have the curative powers. Therefore as of know feces must be used intact for transplanting.

Unlike organ transplants, fecal transplant does not suffer from any rejection problem and therefore needs no life time consumption of anti-rejection drugs. Imagine the relief the affected patients will get from such a transplant who other wise suffer from severe diarrhea, vomiting and fever. Interestingly this treatment regime has been worked out based on trial and error with no supporting scientific data. Human GI tract contains more than 700 species of microorganisms and man's knowledge about them is still incomplete. If recent reports are to be believed human microbiome study is more or less complete and the puzzle involving fecal transplant may soon be resolved once this study is completed. If and when scientists are able to identify the specific bacteria, singly or in combination, present in the feces of healthy adults, responsible for the beneficial effect of fecal transplant, the treatment may see a dramatic change with isolated and laboratory cultured bacteria being used in stead of the feces.   

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

ARE ANTIBIOTICS OBESOGENS? NEW FINDINGS

The fact that over 80% of antibiotics produced in the US is consumed by the animal food industry has been explained away by the need for keeping the meat products safe from contamination by pathogenic bacteria like virulent E.coli, Salmonella and Listeria. However it was later realized that the real purpose of using antibiotics in feed for animals was increasing the weight of the animals before slaughtering which in turn increased the profits of the industry very significantly. Though the meat industry does not admit to this fact, independent studies have confirmed that antibiotics do influence the body mass of the animals in a way not properly understood so far. Of course reducing incidence of contamination is a welcome development though the cost at which this is achieved is some what dubious. If mankind is running out of effective and reliable pool of antibiotics that fight many human diseases, the single most responsible factor is this indiscriminate use (or rather the misuse?) of these life saving drugs for purposes other than saving human lives. Large scale resistance by some of the mutated microorganisms to practically every known antibiotic is an area of intense concern at present.

Why should antibiotics contribute to increased body mass, first observed in laboratory animals a few years ago? Are they really obesogens which interfere with the hormone systems like many endocrine disruptors (ED)? Recent studies connecting antibiotic consumption to body weight increase indicate that they do not work within the body system, their influence being restricted inside the gastro-intestinal tract. It is a common knowledge that most antibiotics knock down intestinal microbial colonies irrespective of whether they are friendly or hostile. One of the earliest empirical observations was that those afflicted by typhoid tend to put on weight after going through the Chloramphenicol antibiotic therapy though the exact cause was not well understood. Also known was the need to replenish the gut microbes through administration of lyophilized cultures of Lactobacilli but the Lactobacilli cultures do not restore fully the profile of microorganisms which were original inhabitants in the gut. Probably this knowledge should have made scientists wiser about likely role of those microbes killed by the antibiotics in body weight increase but not replenished by the standard Lacobacilli therapy.

Now comes the confirmation through recent studies that gut microbes do play a role in fat accumulation in the body though the exact mechanism is yet to be elucidated. Even the identification of these species causing the body to accumulate fat has not been made yet. Only this throws more challenges in elucidating this area further through more detailed and wider studies. Some believe that those microorganisms not killed by the antibiotics become super efficient in extracting calories and converting them into fat. In studies using animals it was found that a gain of 2-4% fat was achieved when they were subjected to administration of low doses of antibiotics for a few weeks. Many farmers do use antibiotics in animals to achieve about 15% body weight on an average. Interestingly the make up of bacteria in animals becoming fatter due to antibiotic consumption resembles that which are present in obese animals, probably lending further weight to the argument that gut microbes are involved in obesity epidemic besides the foods which are rich in sugar and fat.

Against such a background will the world turn its back on reckless use of antibiotics for pecuniary benefits? If this does not happen a tragedy of bigger dimension is waiting to happen. Indirect indication that administration of antibiotics to children during early growth phase could be the real cause of obesity has come out from field studies linking obesity to antibiotic consumption during early childhood. It is alarming to know hear the disturbing possibilities that up to the age of 7 years children could be vulnerable to obesity if frequently treated with antibiotics and the risks are more within the first six months of birth. In a country like the UK it was reported that about 30% of children below the age of 6 months received antibiotic treatment a decade ago. Better sense has prevailed since and physicians seem to be more circumspect in prescribing antibiotics to tender children A consoling factor in this depressing scenario is that adults are not as much in danger as the children are, in getting fatter due to antibiotics.

What are the implications of the above studies on mankind? On one hand here is a situation where the present options vis-a-vis antibiotics are getting more and more limited due to wide scale antibiotic resistance being encountered while no new ones are being developed to counteract more and virulent Frankenstein bugs emerging with each passing day. On top of it wide scale misuse of existing antibiotics, besides not serving the purpose of killing disease causing microbes, tends to make people obese! according to one estimate such antibiotic induced obesity may enlarge the over weight population to the extent of 1.5-2% in the coming years.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

  

HONEY (NOT MONEY) LAUNDERING-INTERNATIONAL RAMIFICATION

Money laundering is a "clock and dagger" operation indulged by corrupt politicians and bureaucrats, mostly in developing countries like India. Recent turmoil in Indian politics about money laundering was started by the declaration of one of the parties that it would get back billions of dollars of "black" money (tax evaded), stashed away in safe tax havens and secret bank accounts in countries like Switzerland though such promises can at best be rhetoric with no intention to do any thing once these wily politicians climb to power. Why such a practice is called money laundering is any body's guess because such wealth can never be used within the country legally. A new laundering scheme is now reported to be in operation in international trade in honey. Probably it does not make any sense prima facie unless one delves deep into mystery.

China, the so called neo economic power admired and envied even by powerful developed countries happens to be the fulcrum around which honey laundering is reported to be taking place. A nation with practically no scruples and a single agenda to expand its hegemonic power around the world, China is a country where unscrupulous fraudsters and adulterators thrive, probably with state patronage. Other wise it is hard to imagine how milk can be tainted with Melamine, a toxic chemical endangering the life of thousands of unsuspecting children. China is known for its cheap products turned out by state owned as well as private operators but its safety monitoring system is not above board as brought out by series of episodes covering many foods. Latest to "bejewel" the crown of the rulers in China is the unraveling of a gigantic fraud on consumers around the world through honey produced in that country using antibiotics and palming them off as products from other countries to evade suspicion and avoid duties in importing countries.

The two main actors in this "game of intrigue" are China and the US. Honey production in the US has been declining over the years and cheap Chinese honey was able to fill the void till 1998 when Chinese honey industry was practically destroyed due serious infection problem. The US stopped import of honey from China because of tainting with antibiotics used by the bee keepers to salvage the local industry. Besides there is an import duty element of $ 1.2 per pound for Chinese honey while the same product from countries like Russia does not attract any duty. Recent arrest of 11 persons from China and Germany opened up a can of worms and only now the full ramifications of this "Chines game of Roulette" are exposed. German companies buy cheap honey from China, marginally process them by removing pollens and filtration to obliterate the Chinese identity and to further confuse the importing countries Chinese honey is blended with Indian honey with a dose of the antibiotics Chloramphenicol to prevent spoilage. According to the US authorities the country lost about $80 million on account of duties on over 106 illegal shipments valued at $40 million during the last several years.

Chinese and their collaborators in this devious game used counties like Australia, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam for transshipment of Chinese honey and enter Europe, the US and Canada without raising any doubt about its origin. In a country like India, honey imported from any country is not subjected to inspection as long as it is declared as exportable. While presence of an antibiotic like Chloramphenicol in small concentrations might not pose any immediate problem, the real cause of worry is the camouflage used by China in exporting its products to countries where they are banned through the intricate web they have spun to avoid detection and if it is honey to day it can be some thing else tomorrow in order to accumulate huge foreign currency reserve it is building up to lord over other lesser economic powers.

India has joined the "elite" honey countries where antibiotics have been detected in honey. If the reports of a local consumer activist organization are to be believed, almost all major branded honey products in the market contained Chloramphenicol at levels varying from 3.7 ug to 250 ug per kg and even imported samples from Australia and Switzerland had this antibiotic at much higher levels. In fact the Indian honey brands do "better" than their Chinese counterparts in that not one but four different antibiotics were found to be present in Indian honey!. Since the manufacturers of these honey brands are not forthcoming on the issue it is difficult to come to any conclusion regarding the origin of these tainted products. Is it possible that Indian apiaries have learned the "technique" of lacing honey with antibiotics from their Chines counter parts as China has plenty of admirers in this country applauding what ever they do. If there is a country standard for honey with clear and unambiguous parameters it must be considered sacred and no one has the authority to violate them what ever be the justification.

The last aspect of this sordid saga is whether such tainted honey is injurious to human health. Of course since a daily dose of about 500 mg is prescribed routinely to treat human infections, one teaspoon of tainted honey, containing less than 5 ug which is one thousandth of the prescription strength, may not do much harm. What is not known is about the consequences one may experience if such honey is consumed every day, especially on the gut health and dynamics of intestinal bacteria. This aspect needs to be investigated before considering any policy of giving green signal for marketing antibiotic treated honey for human consumption.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

LAURIC OIL-AN 'ANTIBIOTIC' FOOD INGREDIENT

Edible oils are triglycerides with 3 moieties of fatty acids attached to a glycerol molecule through esterification. While glycerol is common in all oils, the type of fatty acids attached to it can vary in molecular weight, chain length and degree of unsaturation. As a general rule oils tend to be solids with higher melting point if the fatty acids are saturated in nature while higher the degree of unsaturation greater will be the fluidity. With Omega-3, 6, and 9 fatty acids gaining importance because of their critical biochemical role in humans, liquid oils are invariably promoted while solid fats have many desirable functional qualities desired by the food processing industry. Even amongst oils with unsaturated fatty acids in their molecules, only cis type of isomers are biologically active while trans forms are detested because of their potential for contributing to many disorders some of which can be very serious. The tendency of cis isomer to change into trans isomer during hydrogenation process and under some other processing conditions, has alerted the nutritionists regarding presence of trans fats in processed foods and compulsory declaration of extent of trans fats on the label of the package, is becoming mandatory in many countries.

There are two unique oils of commercial importance which have less of long chain fatty acids and are rich in short and medium chain length fatty acids. They are generally referred to as Lauric oils as they contain higher proportion of the lauric triglyceride compared to most other vegetable oils. Palm kernel oil and coconut oil represent most popular lauric oils which have both food and non-food uses. Coconut oil has less of oleic acid (C 18:1) and more of caprylic (C 8:0) and capric(10) acid glycerides as compared to palm kernel oil. Both contain about 45-50% lauric acid esters conferring on them some extraordinary properties which are now recognized. Process technologies like hydrogenation, fractionation, interesterification, emulsification and others have diversified the use of lauric oils to make hundreds of products of superior organoleptic quality and health attributes.

One of the striking differences between lauric oils and other edible oils is the lower calorie density in the former, about 6 kC per gm as against 9 kC per gm in the latter because of the overwhelming content of short and medium fatty acids. Lauric oils are digested by the saliva in the mouth and lipase system in the GI tract to generate fatty acids with low molecular weights which are burned by the liver for energy. They are not deposited in adipose tissues unlike the long chain fatty acids. Medium chain fats like lauric triglycerides, probably in the form of monolaurate, are believed to go to the surface cells in the skin, sinuses, digestive tract etc creating an extremely potent defensive barrier against microbial infections. It is also claimed that consumption of lauric oils increases the rate at which stored body fat is burned. Caprylic acid has the potency to kill fungus, yeasts and intestine parasites. Other beneficial properties attributed to lauric oils include their ability to increase 20% thyroid production, hasten metabolism, inactivate lipid coated viruses like HIV, Herpes, Cytomegalovirus, to kill bacteria like Listeria, Monocytogenes, Helicibacter pylori and others and to disable protozoa such as Giardia lamblia.

Compared to other major edible oils, production of lauric oils has not made any dramatic increase and it in only because of explosive growth of palm based oils that palm kernel oil was able to register a 20-25% jump in production during the last 5 years, the global out put being at 4.4 million tons(mt) with Malaysia and Indonesia leading the pack. In contrast coconut oil production slumped by 10% during the same period. India is one of the major consumers of coconut oil though it accounts for less than 15% of global production of 2.89 mt in 2007, others being Philippines and Indonesia. Importance of lauric oils has been sidelined since 1980 by the powerful lobbies representing Soybean, Raper seed, Palm oil and Sunflower seed which constitute 70% of the 110 mt world edible oil production to day. The fact that lauric oils have many beneficial properties is amply borne out by the efforts in Canada to genetically modify their canola oil production to raise the level of short and medium chain fatty acids to 40%, probably to preempt reemergence of natural lauric oils and claim their rightful place!

The strong antibiotic functions of lauric oils, confirmed by many scientific studies, make them a natural health protecting ingredient worth incorporating in many processed foods. Synthetic antibiotics that have become omnipotent in fighting infections under the allopathic system of medicine, are turning out to be ineffective against many vectors of disease and there is a case for formulating alternate therapy to fight these diseases using lauric oils. It is time old prejudices are set aside and efforts made to increase their production significantly in the coming years in preference to others with long chain saturated fats which are responsible for most of the ills mankind faces to day.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/

TUMMY TROUBLES-THE NEW PROVOCATEUR

The intestinal flora in human beings are diverse and billions of microbial cells inhabit the GI tract, most of them beneficial to the host. Over 500 species of microorganisms have been identified and some of them are pathogenic in nature. However the pathogenicity does not find expression under normal conditions due to the overwhelming presence of friendly microbes. Helicobacter pyloris is a classical example of a pathogenic organism that resides in the stomach which can flare up under favorable conditions causing chronic ulcers and other problems. Clostridium difficile, also referred to as CDF or cdf or simply as C.diff is another example of a pathogen that has been found in 2-5% of the population in the world. The enterotoxin, cytotoxin and binary toxin produced by C.difficile can cause severe diarrhea and other complications in the large intestine when the general population of harmless bacteria declines due to repeated use of antibiotics through the oral route or cross infection from patients harboring high population of this bacteria in their body. Old age population, residents of hospitals and nursing homes and people coming in direct contact with infected persons can contract this disease.

Emergence of CDF as a major causative agent in intestine related disorders is of a recent origin. With hardly 1000 case reported 5 years ago, to day more than 50000 incidences involving this pathogen are being recorded, some of them proving to be fatal. Large intestine where there is very little oxygen, is the thriving ground for CDF as it is an anaerobic microorganism. Its proliferation can cause serious ulcers, bleeding from the colon and even perforations of the intestine which can be fatal. There are about 100 variants of CDF and the most virulent is Type 027 which has been detected in most of the infections occurring in recent times. As they are spore forming microbes, their destruction is not easy once they start growing as many normal antibiotics are ineffective against it. Oral administration of special antibiotics like metronidazole, vancomycin, fusidic acid or bacitracin can control the infection to a great extent. Psuedomembranous colitis caused by CDF results in bloating of stomach region, constipation, severe diarrhea and abdominal pain. In India there is no credible report of occurrence of CDF infection, probably due to insufficient diagnostic tools available to detect CDF and all diarrhea being clubbed together under one category.

With indiscriminate use of a wide range of antibiotics, even for minor fever and ailments, CDF infection is likely to rise in the coming years unless some restriction is put in place on supply of these antibiotics with out accurately diagnosing the reason for every ailment. Some hospitals do type out the microbial profile of the faeces to determine the causative agent but this is more an exception than the rule. Though antibiotics sale is covered under physician prescription regulations, the ground reality is that any one in India can get them from small pharmacies without such prescriptions and there is a tendency amongst many citizens to rush to a drug shop rather than an hospital or a physician when ever they have fever and similar symptoms. Administration of freeze dried lactobacillus culture containing live cells, is practiced by many physicians to restore the the intestinal flora every time antibiotics are used to treat serious infections. Consumption of yogurt or butter milk in abundant quantities will also serve the purpose. It is no wonder that yogurt finds a prominent place in almost all lists of "top ten" healthy foods recommended by health experts world over and its regular consumption can preempt infections from pathogens like CDF in the long run.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/