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Protection against gut infections with calcium
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The impact of gastrointestinal infections is high and even in affluent societies, the annual incidence is about 10% of the population. Because of the growing resistance of bacterial pathogens to antibiotics, the focus of much research is shifting from treatment to primary prevention. The first-line, non-specific body defences against food-borne pathogens are gastrointestinal secretions such as gastric acid, bile, and mucin, and the autochthonous intestinal microflora. These primary defences in the gastro-intestinal tract might be reinforced by specific nutrients. Dietary calcium, for instance, has been shown to significantly inhibit the survival and colonisation of our model pathogen (Salmonella). It has been demonstrated to inhibit the translocation (invasion) of Salmonella in this model. Moreover, research at NIZO food research has shown that dietary calcium protected against a modified E. coli vaccine in healthy male volunteers by decreasing infection-induced diarrhea. |
Keywords: calcium, diarrhea, diet, E. coli, health, infection, intestine, listeria, salmonella
