Archives

bookmark_borderOmega Pills Do Not Work

Posted on by admin

A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association concludes Omega-3 pills have no effect on the health of your brain; however, eating whole seafood increases your risk mercury poisoning. The Food and Drug Administration recommends eating more low-mercury seafood.

“The hypothesis was that [the supplements] would have an effect,” study author Emily Chew tells The Salt. But “we found there was absolutely no effect on the cognitive decline in this group over time,” says Chew, who is the deputy clinical director at the National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.

“Omega-3s [found in fish] are important, we think, because they reduce inflammation and help neurons function well,” says researcher Joseph Hibbeln of the National Institutes of Health.

Table is sorted from lowest mercury concentrations to highest:

CLAM * 0.009 0.002 0.011 ND 0.028 15 FDA 1991-2010
SCALLOP 0.003 ND 0.007 ND 0.033 39 FDA 1991-2009
ANCHOVIES 0.017 0.014 0.015 ND 0.049 14 FDA 2007-2010
SHRIMP * 0.009 0.001 0.013 ND 0.05 40 FDA 1991-2009
CRAWFISH 0.033 0.035 0.012 ND 0.051 46 FDA 1991 -2007
SQUID 0.023 0.016 0.022 ND 0.07 42 FDA 2005-2010
SARDINE 0.013 0.01 0.015 ND 0.083 90 FDA 2002-2010
TILAPIA * 0.013 0.004 0.023 ND 0.084 32 FDA 1991-2008
SALMON (CANNED) * 0.008 ND 0.017 ND 0.086 34 FDA 1992-2009
WHITING 0.051 0.052 0.03 ND 0.096 13 FDA 1991-2008
MACKEREL ATLANTIC (N.Atlantic) 0.05 N/A N/A 0.02 0.16 80 NMFS REPORT 1978
SHEEPSHEAD 0.093 0.088 0.059 ND 0.17 6 FDA 2007 – 2009
SHAD AMERICAN 0.045 0.039 0.045 0.013 0.186 13 FDA 2007-2010
MACKEREL CHUB (Pacific) 0.088 N/A N/A 0.03 0.19 30 NMFS REPORT 1978
SALMON (FRESH/FROZEN) * 0.022 0.015 0.034 ND 0.19 94 FDA 1991-2009
CROAKER ATLANTIC (Atlantic) 0.065 0.061 0.05 ND 0.193 57 FDA 2002 – 2009
HADDOCK (Atlantic) 0.055 0.049 0.033 ND 0.197 50 FDA 1991-2009
FLATFISH [2*] 0.056 0.05 0.045 ND 0.218 71 FDA 1991-2009
LOBSTER (NORTHERN / AMERICAN) 0.107 0.086 0.076 ND 0.23 9 FDA 2005-2007
OYSTER 0.012 ND 0.035 ND 0.25 61 FDA 1991-2009
TUNA (FRESH/FROZEN, SKIPJACK) 0.144 0.15 0.119 0.022 0.26 3 FDA 1993 – 2007
LOBSTER (Spiny) 0.093 0.062 0.097 ND 0.27 13 FDA 1991-2005
MULLET 0.05 0.014 0.078 ND 0.27 20 FDA 1991-2008
CARP 0.11 0.134 0.099 ND 0.271 14 FDA 1992 – 2007
MONKFISH 0.181 0.139 0.075 0.106 0.289 9 FDA 2006-2008
CATFISH 0.025 0.005 0.057 ND 0.314 57 FDA 1991-2010
WHITEFISH 0.089 0.067 0.084 ND 0.317 37 FDA 1991-2008
PERCH (Freshwater) 0.15 0.146 0.112 ND 0.325 19 FDA 1991-2007
BUTTERFISH 0.058 N/A N/A ND 0.36 89 NMFS REPORT 1978
SKATE 0.137 N/A N/A 0.04 0.36 56 NMFS REPORT 1978
HAKE 0.079 0.067 0.064 ND 0.378 49 FDA 1994-2009
CROAKER WHITE (Pacific) 0.287 0.28 0.069 0.18 0.41 15 FDA 1997
BUFFALOFISH 0.137 0.12 0.094 0.032 0.43 17 FDA 1992-2008
LOBSTER (Species Unknown) 0.166 0.143 0.099 ND 0.451 71 FDA 1991-2008
SCORPIONFISH 0.233 0.181 0.139 0.098 0.456 6 FDA 2007 – 2008
JACKSMELT 0.081 0.05 0.103 0.011 0.5 23 FDA 1997-2007
TILEFISH (Atlantic) 0.144 0.099 0.122 0.042 0.533 32 FDA 2002-04
HERRING 0.084 0.048 0.128 ND 0.56 26 FDA 2006-2009
PERCH OCEAN * 0.121 0.102 0.125 ND 0.578 31 FDA 1991-2010
CRAB [1] 0.065 0.05 0.096 ND 0.61 93 FDA 1991-2009
TROUT (FRESHWATER) 0.071 0.025 0.141 ND 0.678 35 FDA 1991 -2008
MACKEREL SPANISH (S. Atlantic) 0.182 N/A N/A 0.05 0.73 43 NMFS REPORT 1978
WEAKFISH (SEA TROUT) 0.235 0.157 0.216 0 0.744 46 FDA 1991-2005
POLLOCK 0.031 0.003 0.089 ND 0.78 95 FDA 1991-2008
TUNA (FRESH/FROZEN, ALBACORE) 0.358 0.36 0.138 ND 0.82 43 FDA 1992-2008
TUNA (CANNED, ALBACORE) 0.35 0.338 0.128 ND 0.853 451 FDA 1991-2010
TUNA (CANNED, LIGHT) 0.128 0.078 0.135 ND 0.889 551 FDA 1991-2010
MARLIN * 0.485 0.39 0.237 0.1 0.92 16 FDA 1992-1996
BASS (SALTWATER, BLACK, STRIPED) [3] 0.152 0.084 0.201 ND 0.96 82 FDA 1991-2010
COD 0.111 0.066 0.152 ND 0.989 115 FDA 1991-2010
SABLEFISH 0.361 0.265 0.241 0.09 1.052 26 FDA 2004 – 2009
ORANGE ROUGHY 0.571 0.562 0.183 0.265 1.12 81 FDA 1991-2009
GROUPER (ALL SPECIES) 0.448 0.399 0.278 0.006 1.205 53 FDA 1991-2005
TUNA (FRESH/FROZEN, Species Unknown) 0.415 0.339 0.308 0 1.3 120 FDA 1991-2010
SNAPPER 0.166 0.113 0.244 ND 1.366 67 FDA 1991-2007
BLUEFISH 0.368 0.305 0.221 0.089 1.452 94 FDA 1991-2009
TUNA (FRESH/FROZEN, YELLOWFIN) 0.354 0.311 0.231 0 1.478 231 FDA 1991-2010
HALIBUT 0.241 0.188 0.225 ND 1.52 101 FDA 1992-2009
MACKEREL SPANISH (Gulf of Mexico) 0.454 N/A N/A 0.07 1.56 66 NMFS REPORT 1978
MACKEREL KING 0.73 N/A N/A 0.23 1.67 213 GULF OF MEXICO REPORT 2000
TUNA (FRESH/FROZEN, ALL) 0.391 0.34 0.266 0 1.816 420 FDA 1991 – 2010
TUNA (FRESH/FROZEN, BIGEYE) 0.689 0.56 0.341 0.128 1.816 21 FDA 1991 – 2005
BASS CHILEAN 0.354 0.303 0.299 ND 2.18 74 FDA 1994-2010
SWORDFISH 0.995 0.87 0.539 ND 3.22 636 FDA 1990-2010
TILEFISH  (Gulf of Mexico) 1.45 N/A N/A 0.65 3.73 60 NMFS REPORT 1978
SHARK 0.979 0.811 0.626 ND 4.54 356 FDA 1990-2007

bookmark_borderArsenic-based Animal Drugs and Poultry

Posted on by admin

U.S. Food and Drug Administration — Arsenic is in the environment as a naturally occurring substance or as a contaminant and is found in water, air, soil, and food. Published scientific reports have indicated that organic arsenic, a less toxic form of arsenic and the form present in 3-Nitro® (roxarsone), an approved animal drug, could transform into inorganic arsenic. In response, scientists from the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine and the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition developed an analytical method capable of detecting very low levels of inorganic arsenic in edible tissue.

Using the new method, FDA scientists found that the levels of inorganic arsenic in the livers of chickens treated with 3-Nitro® were increased relative to levels in the livers of the untreated control chickens.

Alpharma, a subsidiary of Pfizer, Inc., decided to voluntarily suspend sale of 3-Nitro® and to facilitate an orderly process for suspending use of the product in the United States. Ownership of the veterinary drug subsequently changed to Zoetis, Inc., who continued the suspension from sale of 3- Nitro®. On February 27, 2014, Zoetis, Inc. voluntarily withdrew the new animal drug application for 3- Nitro®. On the same day, Zoetis, Inc. and Huvepharma AD voluntarily withdrew all new animal drug approvals and supplements for 3- Nitro®, as well as arsanilic acid and carbarsone (two other arsenical new animal drugs) for use in animal feed (including all combinations with other approved new animal drugs).

On April 1, 2015, Zoetis announced that it would discontinue marketing Histostat (nitarsone), the only remaining arsenic-based animal drug on the market, by Fall 2015, and would request withdrawal of the approval for the drug by the end of 2015. Histostat (nitarsone) is approved for the prevention of histomoniasis (blackhead disease) in turkeys and chickens, and is the only approved animal drug for this indication. Histomoniasis is a disease that occurs regionally and seasonally in turkeys, and causes significant mortality. Histostat (nitarsone) will cease to be available in the 2016 growing season.

bookmark_borderSuperbug Medieval Remedy

Posted on by admin

Anglo-Saxon cow bile and garlic potion kills MRSA

In the UK, the Telegraph reports:

A thousand-year-old medieval remedy for eye infections which was discovered in a manuscript in the British Library has been found to kill the superbug MRSA.

Anglo-Saxon expert Dr Christina Lee, from the School of English, at Nottingham University, recreated the 10th century potion to see if it really worked as an antibacterial remedy.

The ‘eyesalve’ recipe calls for two species of Allium (garlic and onion or leek), wine and oxgall (bile from a cow’s stomach).

It describes a very specific method of making the topical solution including the use of a brass vessel to brew it, a strainer to purify it and an instruction to leave the mixture for nine days before use.

None of the experts really expected the concoction to work. But when it was tested, microbiologists were amazed to find that not only did the salve clear up styes, but it also tackled the deadly superbug MRSA, which is resistant to many antibiotics.

“We were genuinely astonished at the results of our experiments in the lab,” said Dr Lee.

“We believe modern research into disease can benefit from past responses and knowledge, which is largely contained in non-scientific writings.

“But the potential of these texts to contribute to addressing the challenges cannot be understood without the combined expertise of both the arts and science.”

Dr Lee translated the recipe from Bald’s Leechbook, a leatherbound Old Enlgish manuscript which is kept in the British Library.

The Leechbook is widely thought of as one of the earliest known medical textbooks and contains Anglo-Saxon medical advice and recipes for medicines, salves and treatments.

“Medieval leech books and herbaria contain many remedies designed to treat what are clearly bacterial infections, weeping wounds/sores, eye and throat infections, skin conditions such as erysipelas, leprosy and chest infections,” Dr Lee added.

The scientists at Nottingham made four separate batches of the remedy using fresh ingredients each time, as well as a control treatment using the same quantity of distilled water and brass sheeting to mimic the brewing container but without the vegetable compounds.

None of the individual ingredients alone had any measurable effect, but when combined according to the recipe the MRSA populations were almost totally obliterated: about one bacterial cell in a thousand survived in mice wounds.

Researchers believe the antibacterial effect of the recipe is not due to a single ingredient but the combination used and brewing methods. Further research is planned to investigate how and why this works.

Microbiologists at Nottingham University said they were ‘genuinely amazed’ by the discovery.

“We thought that Bald’s eyesalve might show a small amount of antibiotic activity, because each of the ingredients has been shown by other researchers to have some effect on bacteria in the lab,” said Dr Freya Harrison who led the work in the laboratory.

“But we were absolutely blown away by just how effective the combination of ingredients was.

“This truly cross-disciplinary project explores a new approach to modern health care problems by testing whether medieval remedies contain ingredients which kill bacteria or interfere with their ability to cause infection”.

Scientist Dr Steve Diggle added: “When we built this recipe in the lab I didn’t really expect it to actually do anything.

“When we found that it could actually disrupt and kill cells in (MRSA) biofilms, I was genuinely amazed.”

Dr Kendra Rumbaugh, of Texas Tech University in the US, who was asked to replicate the findings, said that the salve performed ‘good if not better’ than traditional antibiotics at tackling the superbug.

The team at Nottingham is seeking more funding to extend the research so that it could be tested on humans.

The findings were presented at the Annual Conference of the Society for General Microbiology in Birmingham which runs from March 30.