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Wednesday, April 12, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Carbohydrate shows promise against food poisoning Legislattre
By Steve Ltndeberg
Oregon State University
CORVALLIS – Chitosan,
a natural carbohydrate
derived from crustacean
shells, is showing promise as
a weapon against a bacterium
that annually sickens more
than a million people in the
United States.
After salmonella poison-
ing, the second-most common
bacterial foodborne illness in
the U.S. is Clostridium per-
fringens food poisoning.
Present in soil, decaying
vegetation and the intesti-
nal tracts of vertebrates, C.
perfringens typically infects
humans when they eat meat
that hasn’t been thoroughly
cooked or properly stored,
allowing the bacteria to
multiply.
Symptons of C. perfrin-
gens food poisoning include
abdominal pain, stomach
cramps, diarrhea and nausea;
patients often mistake it for a
24-hour flu.
“People aren’t dying, but
they’re getting sick,” said
Oregon State University
researcher Mahfuzur Sarker.
“And many times people
don’t report it, so there are
likely way more people
getting infected than we know
about.”
Sarker and OSU graduate
student Maryam Alnoman
were part of an international
collaboration that studied the
effect of chitosan on C. per-
fringens. Chitosan is a linear
polysaccharide that results
from treating the exoskel-
etons of shrimp and other
crustaceans with an alkaline
compound.
The tests involved both
laboratory growth medium
– bacteria in solution –
and cooked, contaminated
chicken meat left for sev-
eral hours at 98.6 degrees
Fahrenheit. The study looked
at the full life cycle of the C.
perfringen bacterium, which
produces tough, metaboli-
cally dormant spores that are
able to survive many food
processing approaches.
Results were recently pub-
lished in Food Microbiology.
The researchers found chi-
tosan blocked C. perfringens
growth in cooked chicken and
also found chitosan inhibits:
• Spore germination and
outgrowth;
• The spore core from
releasing dipicolinic acid,
which is associated with
an early step of spore
Serving Sisters for 36 years!
Dr. Bonnie
Malone, DC
Chiropractic Musculoskeletal
Th erapy & Exercise Counseling
Nutritional and General
Health Counseling
Certifi ed Cervical Cap Provider
(safe, non-chemical birth-control device)
COVERED BY ALL MAJOR AND LOCAL
INSURANCE COMPANIES (by policy limits)
Sisters Chiropractic Clinic
16190 Hwy. 126, Sisters • 541-549-7141
Absolute Serenity Senior Care
Enriching the lives of those we serve, one day at a time.
David & Leah Tolle, Owners
Personalized, attentive care • Family setting
Private rooms with half bath • Outings
Call David for details, 541-848-3194
Helen’s House ~ Corner of Canal & Greenwood, Redmond
Anna’s Home ~ 192 E. Tall Fir Ct., Sisters
Pennington’s Place ~ 182 E. Tall Fir Ct., Sisters
email: absoluteserenity@ymail.com
germination;
• T h e
growth of
vegetative
cells – cells
that are
actively
growing as
opposed to
producing
spores.
“In lab
conditions,
PHOTO PROVIDED
l o w c o n - Clostriditm perfringens cells.
centrations
of chitosan
were effective,” said Sarker, and optimizing the conditions
professor of microbiology for using it. It’s possible, for
in OSU’s colleges of science example, that chitosan may
and veterinary medicine. “In work best when combined
meat, the concentration needs with other food preservative
to be higher because there chemicals such as sorbate and
are a lot of ingredients in the benzoate.
cooked meat that can inhibit
“It could be a combination
the activity of the antimicro- of multiple agents,” he said.
bial chemicals.
“There are options we can
“But the larger dose of 3 try.”
milligrams per gram of food
The OSU researchers
is still a good dose that can collaborated with scien-
be used in making food prod- tists at Taibah University in
ucts. This is the first time Saudi Arabia and Kasetsart
chitosan was shown to work University in Thailand.
consistently both in lab con-
Oregon
State’s
ditions and in chicken meat.” A g r i c u l t u r a l R e s e a r c h
Sarker said the next steps Foundation supported the
are researching chitosan’s study. Funding also came
effectiveness in other types from the U.S. Army Research
of meat and meat products Office.
tackles
health bills
By Kristena Hansen
Associated Press
PORTLAND (AP) —
Lawmakers in Salem have a
packed schedule ahead from
now through April 18, the
deadline for all proposals
to advance out of their ini-
tial policy committee. What
that means is, save for some
exceptions, the window for
introducing new bills this year
is pretty much closed and
Senate and House committees
that handle education, health
care and other policy-related
topics have scant time to
advance any bills still await-
ing their first vote.
The House Health Care
Committee has roughly 50
bills up for vote on its meet-
ing agendas next week,
including House Bill 3391,
sometimes called the Planned
Parenthood bill that’d require
Oregon health plans, with
the exception of religious-
based plans, to fully cover
See HEALTH BILLS on page 24
Dr. Bonnie Malone
Sisters’ population has become very proactive
about taking care of itself to get the most out of
life — and Dr. Bonnie Malone has been at the
forefront of that movement for more than three
decades.
“If I didn’t find my work to be so effective, there-
fore rewarding, I would retire,” says Dr. Bonnie
Malone. “I just so enjoy helping people feel better
and stay healthier.”
Dr. Malone has been doing just that in her chi-
ropractic practice in Sisters for the past 36 years.
Motion is life and life is motion — and chiro-
practic care can help you get back in motion when
injury or the dents and dings of daily living take
their toll. And it’s always a good idea to visit the
chiropractor once a year or every six months or so
for maintenance — to keep everything aligned and
working properly.
Absolute Serenity
Absolute Serenity has been bringing quality
senior care in a home environment to Sisters for
over seven years.
Absolute Serenity is now expanding its services,
closing its Helen’s House in Sisters and opening a
new Helen’s House in Redmond in August. They
are currently taking reservations for that home and
continuing their wait-list for their Sisters homes.
Transportation is provided for outings, events,
shopping, drives and doctor appointments. Quality
caregivers and managers hold a high standard for
quality care and a comfortable, clean environment.
It’s a family-friendly atmosphere with activi-
ties like weekly chair aerobics, bible studies, movie
night, Bingo 2-3 times monthly, game nights, event
nights, BBQs, daily and weekly walks.
Absolute Serenity’s homes offer private rooms
with half-bath and emergency call systems, and
security and monitoring systems for safety.
All-inclusive rates include but are not limited to
private room, care and services, meals, transporta-
tion, medication management and administration,
doctor communications and activities.