Probiotics may reduce cold and 'flu symptoms for children

By Stephen Daniells, 30-Jul-2009

Related topics: Science & Nutrition, Health and nutritional ingredients

A daily supplement of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains may reduce the incidence of cold and 'flu-like symptoms in children by 50 per cent, says a new study from Danisco.

A combination of the two strains was linked to reductions in fever incidence by 73 per cent, a reduction in the occurrence of runny noses by 59 per cent, and drop in the incidence of coughing by 62 per cent, according to findings published in Pediatrics.

"Daily probiotic dietary supplementation during the winter months was a safe effective way to reduce episodes of fever, rhinorrhea, and cough, the cumulative duration of those symptoms, the incidence of antibiotic prescriptions, and the number of missed school days attributable to illness," wrote the authors, led by Gregory Leyer from the Department of Research and Development for Danisco in Madison.

"L acidophilus NCFM alone was effective. There was, however, a trend for a broader protective effect with the combination of L acidophilus NCFM and B lactis Bi-07."

Indeed, when L. acidophilus NCFM was used alone the fever incidence was cut by 53 per cent, the occurrence of runny noses was reduced by 28 per cent, and the incidence of coughing fell by 41 per cent.

According to UNICEF, a global average of 16 per cent of children under five suffer from acute respiratory infections.

Study details

Leyer and his co-workers from Tongji University (Shanghai), the University of Texas at Houston, and Sprim USA (Frisco) recruited 326 children aged between three and five in a child care centre in China.

The children were randomly assigned to one of three groups, and received twice a day for six months the single L. acidophilus NCFM strain, the combination of the strains, or placebo.

In addition to the reductions in the incidence in fever, coughing, and runny noses, the researchers noted a reduction in the use of antibiotics in children either of the probiotic interventions, while these children also missed fewer days of child care.

"Although the reduced incidence of antibiotic prescriptions for all indications noted in an earlier study was confirmed, this study is the first to indicate a trend toward more-significant results with a combination versus single strain preparation," wrote the authors.

The duration of symptoms was also reduced in the placebo groups, with a 32 and 48 per cent decrease observed in the single strain and combination groups, respectively.

Commenting on the mechanism, the researchers said that an immune-enhancing effect was the "likely explanation, because numerous studies with various probiotic bacteria have demonstrated their ability to modulate immune responses through interactions

with toll-like receptors".1

Furthermore, they note that part of the rationale behind the strain choice for this study lay in the strains' ability to stimulate cells called dendritic cells that play a role in immune systems function.

Source: Pediatrics

2009, Volume 124: e172-e179
"Probiotic Effects on Cold and Influenza-Like Symptom Incidence and Duration in Children"
Authors: G.J. Leyer, S .Li, M.E. Mubasher, C. Reifer, A.C. Ouwehand

Oxo-bio industry says product claims valid

By Rory Harrington, 04-Aug-2009

An oxo-biodegradable industry body has refuted charges made by a rival association that its products fail to meet valid or recognised standards, and that the sector has yet to present sound scientific evidence to support its claims.

The Oxo-Biodegradable Plastics Association (OPA) has said the standards it uses to verify the biodegradability of its products are legitimate and that claims made by the industry are founded on solid science.

Recognised standards

Gerald Scott, Professor Emeritus in Chemistry and Polymer Science of Aston University and OPA Chairman, has rejected a series of charges laid against the sector by competitor European Bioplastics (EP).

In its second attack on the oxo-bio segment, EP said the American Standard ATSM D-6954-04 was not an acknowledged standard. Furthermore, it questioned the validity of citing the test because it had no pass/fail criteria but simply described how to operate tests in the laboratory.

But Scott, who is also chairman of the British Standards Institute Committee on Biodegradability of Plastics, said EP's accusation was incorrect.

"It is impossible to say that ATSM D6954 is not an acknowledged standard," he told FoodProductionDaily.com. "It not only provides detailed test methods but also provides pass/fail criteria."

The retired professor gave para 6.6.1 as an example that requires 60 per cent of the organic carbon must be converted to carbon dioxide prior to the end of the test and that gel content must be no higher than 10 per cent.

EB had also criticised use of the standard as it did not comply with EN13432, used by its own members, that sets a deadline for this to occur within 180 days. But Scott said there was no requirement for the 60 per cent conversion to be achieved in this time because, while timescale was critical in an industrial composting process, it was not critical for biodegradation in the environment. He said that for EB to compare the two standards did not make sense as they tested for different things; compostability in the case of EN 13432, while ASTM checked biodegradability.

"The issues raised by EB are not about clarification- they seem to me an attempt to confuse the public by suggesting a plastic is not biodegradable unless it can pass the 90 per cent mineralization test in EN 13432 and similar standards," said Scott . "EB knows perfectly well that this test is appropriate for composting but not for products designed to biodegrade in the environment."

Independent tests but results confidential

The OPA chairman also dismissed EP charges that the oxo-bio sector made "self-declared" claims, saying the products were subject to independent testing and their validity based on well-established science. The tests were conducted according to ASTM D-6954 by independent laboratories such as US and UK-based Smithers-RAPRA, Applus in Spain and Belgian testers OWS, said the body citing a number of examples.

Oxo-bio products degrade according to the definition as those "breaking down to a specific extent within a given time", said Scott in contradiction to another EB claim. He said that oxo-bio products meet definitions of oxo-degradation and oxo-degradability as defined by TC249/WG9 of CEN (the European Standards Organisation).

Scott said he had seen commercially confidential company reports verifying performance on degradability.

'I am satisfied that if properly manufactured oxo-bio products will totally degrade in the presence of oxygen," he added. "Timescale depends on the amount of heat, light and stress to which the materials is subjected."

Pre-treatment

EB claims that oxo-bio products could only be degraded under laboratory conditions after a pre-treatment were dismissed as irrelevant by the rival organisation.

Scott said that conditions in the laboratory were designed to simulate, so far as possible, conditions in the real world but had to be accelerated so tests could be done in a reasonable time.

"Pre-treatment does not invalidate the results as extrapolated to real-world conditions," he said.

Scientists Find a Microbe Haven at Ocean’s Surface

The New York Times <http://www.nytimes.com/>

July 28, 2009

 

By CARL ZIMMER

 

The world's oceans are like an alien world. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that 95 percent of them remain unexplored. But the mysteries do not start a mile below the surface of the sea. They start with the surface itself.

 

Scientists are now discovering that the top hundredth-inch of the ocean is somewhat like a sheet of jelly. And this odd habitat, thinner than a human hair, is home to an unusual menagerie of microbes. It's really a distinct ecosystem of its own, said Oliver Wurl, of Canada's Institute of Ocean Sciences.

 

This so-called sea-surface microlayer is important, scientists say, in part because it influences the chemistry of the ocean and the atmosphere. One of the most significant things that happens on our

planet is the transport of gases in and out of the ocean, said Michael Cunliffe, a marine biologist at the University of Warwick in England. The ocean stores a large fraction of the global-warming gases we produce; at the microlayer, the gases are pulled down.

 

It's the ocean breathing through its skin, Dr. Cunliffe said.

 

Sailors have long known that the surface can be covered with oily slicks (hence the phrase pouring oil on troubled waters). But when scientists began studying the surface in the mid-20th century they found it vexing. A scientist cannot just dunk a bucket into the ocean without dredging up deeper water as well. Even defining the surface is hard, since it's moving up and down, said Peter Liss, a professor of environmental sciences at the University of East Anglia in England.

 

So scientists had to invent some tools to skim the surface. Dr. Liss and his colleagues, for example, chill a piece of glass with liquid nitrogen and lower it into the sea, freezing water it contacts.

 

These tools have allowed scientists to discover that the top hundredth of an inch is chemically distinct. It is loaded with molecules carried up by air bubbles and concentrated at the surface.

 

Recent surveys carried out by Dr. Wurl and his colleagues have revealed that the microlayer has a rich supply of sticky clumps of carbohydrates. These carbohydrates are made by single-cell organisms called phytoplankton that live lower in the ocean to stick together in colonies. Eventually the carbohydrates break off the phytoplankton and clump together. Dr. Wurl's studies indicate that many of them rise to the microlayer, forming a film.

 

I really imagine it as tiny pieces of jelly floating on the ocean, Dr. Wurl said.

 

It may be hard to imagine such a fine coat of slime holding together for long on top of the heaving ocean. But Dr. Wurl has found that it is quite durable. We have collected microlayer samples with wind conditions of 16 to 18 knots, he said. It's not pleasant to be in a small boat at that wind speed. That tells us the microlayer is pretty stable.

 

Dr. Wurl and his colleagues report the findings in a paper to be published in the journal Marine Chemistry <http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/503349/description#description>.

He suspects that when waves disrupt the jellylike microlayer, air bubbles deliver sticky material back to the surface.

 

Dr. Cunliffe, who has replicated Dr. Wurl's results, argues that these studies mean that the microlayer is a special kind of habitat for microbes. The gelatinous film calms the turbulence in the microlayer, which may make it easier for bacteria to attach to the particles and feed on the molecules flowing past.

 

To document the sort of microbes that live in the microlayer, Dr. Cunliffe and other researchers are collecting surface water, breaking open the cells it contains, and sequencing the genes they hold. They compare the microlayer residents to the microbes that live a few inches deeper.

 

We're finding consistently different communities, Dr. Cunliffe said. The microlayer communities are dominated by groups of microbes well known for forming biofilms on more familiar surfaces, like rocks in streams, our teeth and the insides of sewer pipes.

 

They're always the usual suspects, Dr. Cunliffe went on. If our hypothesis is correct, it makes complete sense.

 

Dr. Liss called the finding a really interesting result, because it shows that the microlayer is a really different environment.

 

Scientists say it is important to become better acquainted with this mysterious ocean skin, because it may play a critical role in the environmental well-being of the planet. Studies have shown, for example, that pollutants like pesticides and flame retardants can be trapped in the microlayer.

 

Dr. Cunliffe and his colleagues have identified bacteria in the microlayer that devour important chemicals like methane and carbon monoxide. The microlayer is also crucial to the ocean's ability to absorb carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas.

 

It's actually sucking the carbon dioxide down into the water column, Dr. Cunliffe said.

 

Dr. Liss said the microlayer was clearly important, because it's where the ocean and the atmosphere interact.

 

But it's difficult to study, he added, so it hasn't received as much attention as it ought to.

 

Bioplastic bodies trade blows as row breaks out

By Rory Harrington, 23-Jul-2009

Related topics: Packaging, End-of-Line Packaging, Packaging Materials, Primary Packaging

A war of words has broken out within the bioplastics packaging industry with two trade bodies levelling a series of negative allegations about the different sectors.

The controversy was ignited yesterday after industry association European Bioplastics (EB) publicly denounced claims made by the oxo-biodegradeable (OB) industry as "misleading" and "free of substance".

The Oxo-Biodegradable Plastics Association (OBPA) hit back by saying its products were superior and EB had gone on the attack in a bid to protect its market share.

EB issued a position paper distancing itself from the OB sector, saying there were "serious concerns amongst many plastics, composting and waste management experts that these products do not meet their claimed environmental promises".

The oxo-biodegradation industry says its plastics "self-destruct" or biodegrade when they are exposed to UV irradiation or heat because substances such as cobalt, nickel and zinc are added to conventional plastics at the time of manufacture. These reduce the molecular weight of the material over a pre-determined period and they fragment – allowing them to be consumed by bacteria and fungi.

But EB challenged these claims because it says at present they cannot be verified with reference to international standards. The organisation said OB products did not biodegrade but only fragment into invisible pieces, saying "this is not generally considered as a feasible manner of solving the problem of plastic waste".

"Bioplastics are still a relatively young industry", said Andy Sweetman, Chairman of the Board of European Bioplastics. "Inherent implications made on the environmental suitability of our products are subject to close scrutiny by all kinds of stakeholders. It is, therefore, vital that claims on biodegradability or compostability are backed by internationally accepted standards."

He added that it was vital that the public not be confused by claims on biodegradability and compostability resulting from differing methods.

"If certain products that claim to be biodegradable or compostable are proven not to fulfill acknowledged standards, this is liable to impact negatively on our own members' products, even though they do fully comply", Sweetman said.

He added it was vital its own compostability mark, known as the seedling, not be associated with any oxo-biodegradable product as they did not comply with recognized European standards. This is why EB had successfully fought against attempts by the OB industry to "water down" EN 13432, said Sweetman.

EB also raised concerns that a public misperception of OB products could encourage more littering and interfere with organic and recycling schemes.

But the Oxo-Biodegradable Plastics Association (OBPA) dismissed EB arguments saying its products were tested for degradability, biodegradability and non-eco toxicity against criteria laid down in American Standard ASTM D6954-04. Authorities in France had published a standard for OB products, while the UK was in the process of developing one, it added.

The OB body also rejected charges of trying to dilute European standards.

"EP fought to prevent the amendment of EN13432 because they have a commercial interest against a European Standard with tests appropriate to oxo-bio," an OBPA spokesman told FoodProductionDaily.com.

It added that composting was not the same as biodegradation in the environment as it was an artificial process operated according to a much shorter timescale than the processes of nature.

"Therefore, Standards such as EN13432, ISO 17088, and their American (ASTM D6400) and Australian (AS 4736-2006) equivalents, designed for compostable plastic, cannot be used for plastic which is designed to biodegrade if it gets into the environment," added the spokesman. "The hydrobiodegradable industry has consistently lobbied for standards and legislation which give its product an artificial advantage, and has consistently blocked proposals for change."

Regarding concerns that its products could lead to more litter, it said there was no evidence to suggest this would happen.

OBPA concluded: "Composting of organic waste makes sense, but compostable plastic does not. It is up to 400% more expensive than ordinary plastic; it is thicker and heavier and requires more trucks to transport it. If buried in landfill, compostable plastic will emit methane."