January 12, 2012

 

US scientists work on Salmonella threat

 

 

Researchers at the University of Connecticut's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources may have discovered an effective method in defeating Salmonella.

 

This gram-negative bacterium is a potentially fatal disease in the elderly, the young, and individuals with suppressed immune systems as well as causing over a million cases of Salmonellosis in the US annually.

Commonly found in poultry and dairy products, salmonella can survive for relatively long periods of time in the environment - from weeks to months - and some serotypes have emerged which are resistant to various antibiotics.

 

However, animal science professor, Kumar Venkitanarayanan, and his post-doctoral fellow, Anup Kollanoor Johny, have determined that natural food grade molecules found in such familiar sources such as cinnamon, cloves, oregano, and coconut oil seem to have the ability to shut down the genes that enable the bacterium to colonise in the caeca of chickens.

 

Venkitanarayanan explains, "The bacterium colonises the intestinal tract of chickens. It is excreted in droppings and contaminates the meat and eggs. Within the bird, Salmonella travels from the intestine to the ovaries and contaminates the yolk even before an egg shell is formed. So an intact egg can have Salmonella."

 

During his doctoral studies with Venkitanarayanan, Kollanoor Johny hypothesises that the molecules contained in certain foods could help 'turn down' the genes in the bacteria before they spread to internal organs. Research has proven his theory.

 

According to Mike Darre, Professor of Animal Science in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, "Salmonella is tough to get rid of completely. The idea of using natural food molecules in feed and washes, at a relatively low cost to the farmer and without the need for antibiotic, has great benefits."

 

Kollanoor Johny states that these natural molecules have multiple functionalities. "They are derived from nature," he says. "At the same time, they are killing Salmonella. We also believe that they have potential human health benefits because of the various functional capabilities which include acting as antioxidants, lowering blood pressure and aiding in cardiovascular health.

 

According to Kollanoor Johny, the next step is to make sure that adding food grade molecules to poultry feed is not harmful to the birds.

 

"Our initial findings show that these molecules are completely safe in chickens, but we need to do more studies to make sure the meat and eggs are still palatable," he says.

 

"We don't want eggs to be cinnamon flavoured," he jokes.