(Phytochemicals in) Foods to Prevent and Treat diseases - Diarrhea

 Diarrhea is defined as a condition of passing of loose or watery stools as a result of viruses (rotavirus, norovirus, etc.), bacteria (food poisoning, E coli), parasites effects, intestinal disorders, fat mal-absorption, laxative abuse ..., etc. alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids and terpenes


Types of food to prevent and treat diarrhea
1. Yogurt
In the study to investigate Yogurt containing probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 and L. reuteri RC-14 helps resolve moderate diarrhea and increases CD4 count in HIV/AIDS patients, showed that

he probiotic yogurt group at baseline, 15 and 30 days had a mean WBC count of 5.8+/-0.76 x 10(9)/L, 6.0+/-1.02 x 10(9)/L, and 5.4+/-0.14 x 10(9)/L, respectively. However, the mean CD4 cell count remained the same or increased at 15 and 30 days in 11/12 probiotic-treated subjects compared to 3/12 in the control. Diarrhea, flatulence, and nausea resolved in 12/12 probiotic-treated subjects within 2 days, compared to 2/12 receiving yogurt for 15 days. This is the first study to show the benefits of probiotic yogurt on quality of life of women in Nigeria with HIV/AIDS, and suggests that perhaps a simple fermented food can provide some relief in the management of the AIDS epidemic in Africa(1).

2. Ginger
In the study to demonstrate that ginger significantly blocked the binding of LT to cell-surface receptor G M1, resulting in the inhibition of fluid accumulation in the closed ileal loops of mice, found that biological-activity-guided searching for active components showed that zingerone (vanillylacetone) was the likely active constituent responsible for the antidiarrheal efficacy of ginger. Further analysis of chemically synthesized zingerone derivatives revealed that compound 31 (2-[(4-methoxybenzyl)oxy]benzoic acid) significantly suppressed LT-induced diarrhea in mice via an excellent surface complementarity with the B subunits of LT(2).

3. Peppermint oil (in small dose)
The use of peppermint oil in treating the irritable bowel syndrome has been studied with variable results probably due to the presence of patients affected by small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, lactose intolerance or celiac disease that may have symptoms similar to irritable bowel syndrome. researchers at the G d'Annunzio University, found that A 4 weeks treatment with peppermint oil improves abdominal symptoms (abdominal bloating, abdominal pain or discomfort, diarrhoea, constipation, feeling of incomplete evacuation, pain at defecation, passage of gas or mucus and urgency at defecation) in patients with irritable bowel syndrome(3).

4. Garlic
In the study to evaluate the antimicrobial s effect of the antimicrobial agents (garlic, ciprofloxacin and ampicillin) on Escherichia coli, Shigella sp, Salmonella sp, and Proteus mirabilis using standard procedures. Significant differences (p < 0.01), indicated that No isolates were resistant to garlic, making it a promising antimicrobial agent. It appears that antibiotics that interfere with DNA and RNA syntheses, such as garlic does, could constitute an effective partner in the synergic effect of garlic currently being investigated worldwide(4).

5.  Etc.



Sources
(1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18223503
(2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17880155
(3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17420159
(4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17539285