Fwd: [SoFlaVegans] Blackcurrants fight hospital superbug

[Guest guest]

Note: forwarded message attached.Ronald A. Fells

N3VPU

Amateur Radio Operator

Everyone is raving about the all-new Mail.

 

 

 

 

Blackcurrants fight hospital superbug, studies show

By Chris Mercer

22/09/2006

 

http://www.nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?n=70773 & m=2nie922 & c=qdrhrvoeraoqydo

 

British blackcurrants, used to make the country’s

popular Ribena soft drink, may offer a range of health

benefits and could protect against hospital superbug

MRSA, recent research shows.

 

Special compounds found in British blackcurrants

effectively prevented the spread of the Staphylococcs

aureus bug, more commonly known as MRSA. The compounds

also stopped other bacteria in their tracks, including

salmonella and listeria.

 

The results were found by laboratory studies in

Scandinavia and New Zealand.

 

UK hospitals have spent recent years battling to

control rising outbreaks of MRSA, nicknamed a

‘superbug' because of its resistance to antibiotics.

The bug is normally harmless but due to its durability

it can be fatal if picked up by those already weak or

ill.

 

The emergence of the research could be good news for

the Ribena soft drink, which uses up 95 per cent of

Britain's blackcurrants. Ribena, made by

GlaxoSmithKline, has long been a national favourite

and is now sold in more than 20 countries.

 

And, if more research on blackcurrants' health

properties proves fruitful, producers could find new

avenues across the functional food industry.

 

Blackcurrants' success in preventing MRSA growth has

been attributed to compounds called proanthocyanidins.

A range of fruits contain these compounds, but

blackcurrants have particularly high levels.

 

Eating or drinking products containing blackcurrants

on a regular basis would likely be enough to have a

protective effect, according to Dr Derek Stewart, from

the Scottish Crop Research Association and who has

worked on health studies involving blackcurrants and

other fruits.

 

The compounds are able to survive pasteurisation, used

to kill bacteria in soft drink production.

 

“It's a case of defence is the best form of offence. I

don't think they would be used in a hospital

environment, it's very much a dietary thing,” Stewart

told BeverageDaily.com.

 

“The compounds will be broken down by the body's

digestive system, but a small part will get through.”

 

Blackcurrants are also high in two other compounds –

anthocyanins and ellagitannins – which are considered

to carry health benefits.

 

Researchers are keen to examine which potential health

benefits from blackcurrants can be traced to high

vitamin C content and which to the compounds. This

information could facilitate new breeding programmes

to enhance levels of these compounds in blackcurrants.

 

Stewart said he was nearing the end of a large study

examining the effects of blackcurrants on heart

disease. The results, to be released shortly, were

looking positive, he said.

 

Scientists from SCRI are already mid-way through a

project in collaboration with Ribena maker

GlaxoSmithKline to boost vitamin C levels in blackcurrants.

 

Live Simply So That

Others May Simply Live

Yoga-With-Nancy/

SignSoFla/

SoFlaVegans/

SoFlaSchools/