Ulcer bacteria tied to irregular heartbeat

Helicobacter pylori is a common cause of peptic ulcers and digestive tract cancer. In this study, patients with the arryhthmia atrial fibrillation, a rapid-and inconsistent beating of the upper chambers of the heart, were almost 20 times more likely to have an H. pylori infection. 59 patients with atrial fibrillation were compared to 45 healthy individuals. In the analysis, 97.2% of the patients with atrial fibrillation were positive for H. pylori infection, while just 5.3% of the patients without atrial fibrillation had H. pylori infection. The study appears in the July 2005 issue of the journal Heart.

Spirulina inhibits liver fibrosis and liver cancer cells

Liver fibrosis is the growth of fibrous tissue in the liver where there is cell damage and destruction leading to scarring. If the fibrosis becomes bad enough it leads to cirrhosis. When stellate fat storage cells in the liver become activated, they proliferate and strongly contribute to the fibrosis. In this study, both Spirulina and Chlorella were added to liver tissue cells to see if they could inhibit the proliferation of the stellate cells and they were also added to liver cancer cells. Both Spirulina and Chlorella inhibited the proliferation of stellate and liver cancer cells, and caused them to expire appropriately, with the Spirulina being stronger. The study is published in the May 18th, 2005 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Ingredients in Aged Garlic have antibiotic activity and protect the kidney from antibiotic toxicity (Gentamicin)

Aged garlic and it's ingredients s-allylcysteine, diallyl sulfide, and diallyl disulfide ameliorate the toxic effect to the kidneys, of the potentially very valuable antibiotic gentamicin, in laboratory animals. It was found that all of these ingredients were independently active against the food contaminating bacteria Eschericia coli, and that they enhanced the antibiotic effect of gentamicin against this dangerous bacterium. The study is published in the March 2005 issue of the journal Phytotherapy Research.