Research
|
|
|
From Kazakhstan: The 'good' bacteria Scientists from the Kazakhstan Academy of Sciences' Ministry of Education and Science in Almaty are working with scientists from DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service to ensure the safety of our diet.
The biotechnological approach to preserving food and preventing food poisoning would work by using "good" bacteria to thwart "bad" bacteria that spoils and poisons food. It's part of the DOE's Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention program to create non-weapons-related work for scientists of the former Soviet Union. "Contamination of food and drinking water by 'bad' bacteria can result in serious illness and even death, especially in children and senior citizens," says ORNL's Jonathan Woodward. "This research, guided by U.S. industry, is aimed at generating bioproducts-called probiotics-that can be used to prevent contamination of food by pathogenic, or 'bad,' bacteria." Examples of "bad" bacteria, Woodwards says, include strains of E. coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter species. Probiotics can be considered "good" bacteria. Scientists in Kazakhstan have identified several strains of Lactobacillus, or the lactic acid bacteria commonly found in yogurt, and other sources that can prevent the growth of the "bad" bacteria. Probioticsa general term for all the "good" bacteria normally in human beings' intestinesare essential in aiding normal digestion and also as a first line of defense against invading viruses, yeasts, parasites and pathogenic bacteria. "As they help us digest our food, they secrete certain acidic end products that are lethal to unfriendly organisms but beneficial to us in normal amounts," Woodward says. "Our friendly probiotic bacteria are depleted by antibiotics we've taken, chemicals in our food or waterespecially chlorineor even by the large amounts of antibiotics and other chemicals present in meats and poultry. Until we replace the probiotic bacteria, we've left ourselves vulnerable for more yeast, viral and bacterial infections." Probiotics could be introduced into the diet by means as simple as sprinkling them onto food. They also offer an alternative to the use of antibiotics in animal feed to ward off infectious diseases or to prevent spoilage. "A menacing feature of disease control emerging worldwide is the mounting resistance of pathogenic microorganisms to traditional antibiotics," Woodward says. "In this cooperative project, probiotics are being identified, and also the molecular entities they synthesize, to keep pathogens at bay. This constitutes the prime project focus." Kazakhstan scientists have accumulated a rich and so far untapped resource of microorganisms that have antibacterial properties, which could prove very valuable to food safety R&D in the United States. Submitted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory |
| DOE Pulse Home | Search | Comments |