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    Common substance may fight food poisoning hazard

    By MALCOLM RITTER | Associated Press – Thu, Jan 19, 2012

    NEW YORK (AP) — A substance found in nuts and whole grains may someday help doctors fight the kind of food poisoning that sickened thousands of people in Europe last summer, a study in mice suggests.

    While a variety of germs can cause food poisoning, the European outbreak involved a dangerous strain of the bacterium E. coli. It infects people and pumps out a poison called Shiga toxin. Some other bacteria also produce this toxin, which overall causes more than 1 million deaths a year worldwide. The European food poisoning outbreak included about 4,000 people and 50 deaths.

    There's no definitive treatment for Shiga toxin. But in Friday's issue of the journal Science, scientists report that they could protect mice against a lethal dose by injecting them with the mineral manganese.

    The animals were injected daily, starting five days before they were exposed to the toxin. While untreated mice died within four days, the injected mice remained healthy. The manganese made the toxin vulnerable to being destroyed by cells.

    Scientists still need to do more research before they can assess the usefulness of manganese in treating people. Manganese is already approved for medical use and it's inexpensive, they note. So that might make it especially useful in developing countries, where nearly all cases of Shiga toxin poisoning occur, wrote the researchers, from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

    ___

    Online:

    Science: http://www.sciencemag.org

     

    16 comments

    • Scott
      Scott  •  Sapporo-shi, Japan  •  4 mths ago
      Manganese is not mineral it is a metal. Although it is often found in minerals.
      • flash
        flash 4 mths ago
        correct! good job
    • Fish Bait
      Fish Bait  •  Searcy, Arkansas  •  4 mths ago
      just eat your greens
      • Jeremy
        Jeremy 4 mths ago
        E. Coli is found in vegetables, so those aren't particularly safe either.
      • Fish Bait
        Fish Bait 4 mths ago
        True ,but that is where you get your natural manganese.
    • Jeremy
      Jeremy  •  4 mths ago
      As great as this may seem, if correct, it's merely a band-aid for a gaping wound that's still being cut. It's probably more important to stop the problem at its source.
    • Grid51
      Grid51  •  4 mths ago
      and is that substance found in nut? come people learn how to make complete statements.
      • Bob
        Bob 4 mths ago
        First sentence: "A substance found in nuts and whole grains may someday help..."
    • Tommy Boy
      Tommy Boy  •  4 mths ago
      Ah if it smells like #$%$ don't eat it.
      • David
        David 4 mths ago
        You really funny!
    • Paul
      Paul  •  Wichita, Kansas  •  4 mths ago
      So will the government start these injections 5 days before we will be allowed to purchase ANY meat ?
    • Kismetus
      Kismetus  •  4 mths ago
      I think i smoked manganese and no I think I got Touretes..#$%$ bath salts
      • David
        David 4 mths ago
        You funny guy. Girl?
    • Old Geezer
      Old Geezer  •  4 mths ago
      God Bless Mice!
    • chief_nocahoe
      chief_nocahoe  •  Pensacola, Florida  •  4 mths ago
      when in doubt toss it out .
    • Centrist
      Centrist  •  4 mths ago
      Why mention nuts like they're a unique source? Oatmeal, spinach and brown rice are excellent sources as well. In fact leafy vegetables, whole grains, nuts, pecans, almonds, peanuts, brown rice, whole wheat bread, pinto, Lima and navy beans, spinach, sweet potatoes, avocados, eggs and pineapple are all very good sources. BUT none have enough of Mn to help this type of infection.
    • J.
      J.  •  4 mths ago
      Just eat well and you will be fine.
    • Neandertaler
      Neandertaler  •  4 mths ago
      So we would take this continuously for the possibility that we might become poisoned? Yeah, that's a plan!
    • Grid51
      Grid51  •  4 mths ago
      is it the toxin that is found in the nuts or the bacteria ?
    • hmmm
      hmmm  •  4 mths ago
      Yes, quit saving useless people...like religitards.
    • Buster Deekatt
      Buster Deekatt  •  Chesaning, Michigan  •  4 mths ago
      Many foods contain manganese, including several that get blamed for E-Coli outbreaks in the past few years.
    • Paul
      Paul  •  4 mths ago
      Obama must own a manganese mine somewhere in Kenya.
     Post a comment
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