Olive leaf extract may lower cholesterol

ZURICH, Switzerland, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Taking 1,000 mg of a specific olive leaf extract can lower cholesterol and lower blood pressure, Swiss and German researchers said.

Cem Aydogan of Frutarom Health said that the findings came from a "twins' trial," in which different treatments were given to identical twins.

The researchers conducted a pilot trial with 20 identical twin pairs who had an increased blood pressure, or mild hypertension. Individuals were either given placebo capsules or capsules containing doses of 500 mg or 1,000 mg of olive leaf extract EFLA 943. Pairs of twins were assigned to different treatments. After the subjects had taken the extract for eight weeks researchers measured blood pressures as well as collecting data about aspects of lifestyle.

"The study confirmed that olive leaf extract EFLA 943 has anti-hypertensive properties in humans," Aydogan said in a statement. "This works showed that taking a 1000 mg dose has substantial effects in people with borderline hypertension."

The research is published in the latest edition of Phytotherapy Research.

A New Biopesticide For The Organic Food Boom

ScienceDaily (Aug. 25, 2008) — With the boom in consumption of organic foods creating a pressing need for natural insecticides and herbicides that can be used on crops certified as "organic," biopesticide pioneer Pam G. Marrone, Ph.D., is reporting development of a new "green" pesticide obtained from an extract of the giant knotweed in a report scheduled for presentation here today at the 236th national meeting of the American Chemical Society.

That 12-foot-high Goliath, named for the jointed swollen nodes on its stem, invaded the U.S. from Japan years ago and grows along the East Coast and other areas. "The product is safe to humans, animals, and the environment," says Marrone, founder and CEO of Marrone Organic Innovations Inc., in Davis, Calif.

The new biopesticide has active compounds that alert plant defenses to combat a range of diseases, including powdery mildew, gray mold and bacterial blight that affect fruits, vegetables, and ornamentals. The product will be available this October for conventional growers, according to Marja Koivunen, Ph.D., director of research and development for Marrone Organic Innovations. A new formulation has also been developed for organic farmers and will be available in 2009.

Click here to continue reading article at Science Daily.com

Aussies turning in droves to alternative therapies

Sydney, July 24 (ANI): The number of people visiting complementary health professionals in Australia has increased by 50 per cent in the last decade.

Most had consultations for arthritis (20 per cent), asthma (14 per cent) and mental or behavioural disorders (13 per cent).

Chiropractors, naturopaths and acupuncturists were the most commonly consulted professionals, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics” snapshot of social trends report says that some patients with serious health conditions, such as cancer, made use of relaxation, diet, vitamins, positive imagery and faith healing.

According to the report, 42 per cent of people seeking such treatment had a "priority health condition" such as asthma, diabetes, cancer or mental problems.

The report also revealed that these patients were "in touch with mainstream medicine"; 32 per cent of people who had visited a complementary health therapist had consulted a doctor in the previous two weeks, rising to 63 per cent in the previous three months.

Click here to continue reading article at Fresh News

Cocoa flavanols may help retain memory

From UPI.com Health News

MCLEAN, Va., Aug. 19 (UPI) -- People ages 59 to 83 who drank a cocoa flavanol-rich beverage had an 8 percent increase in brain blood flow after one week, U.S. researchers said.

The study, published in the journal Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, said cocoa flavanols -- the unique compounds found naturally in cocoa -- may increase blood flow to the brain.

Harvard medical scientists said researchers suggest long-term improvements in brain blood flow could impact cognitive behavior, offering potential defense against debilitating brain conditions including dementia and stroke.

When the flow of blood to the brain slows over time, the result may be structural damage and dementia. Scientists speculate that maintaining an increased blood flow to the brain could slow this cognitive decline.

The study participants who regularly drank a cocoa flavanol-rich beverage made using the Mars Inc. Cocoapr process had an 8 percent increase in brain blood flow after one week, and 10 percent increase after two weeks.

That Tastes ... Sweet? Sour? No, It's Definitely Calcium!

ScienceDaily (Aug. 21, 2008) — Chemists in Philadelphia are reporting a discovery that could expand the palate of human tastes — sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and savory — to include a new taste sensation that they term "calcium."

In a report scheduled for presentation here today at the 236th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, scientist Michael G. Tordoff, Ph.D., and colleagues with the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia describe research they say demonstrates that a taste for calcium exists in mice. With mice and humans sharing many of the same genes, the findings suggest that people also may have such a taste, which could have a range of practical applications.

"People don't consume as much calcium as nutritionists would like," Tordoff said, "and one reason for this is that foods high in calcium don't taste good to many people. Tweaking its taste could encourage a calcium-deficient population to consume more of this key nutrient.

"By understanding how calcium is detected in the mouth, we can either make it easier to consume by reducing its bad taste or even make pharmacological agents that make it taste better."

Click here to continue reading article at Science Daily

Vitamin D's wild days: Who to test, what to take?

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP

WASHINGTON -Don't be surprised if your doctor orders a vitamin D test during your next physical. Blood tests to check levels of the so-called sunshine vitamin are on the rise as doctors and patients react to headline-grabbing research that suggests having too little may not only hurt your bones _ it might increase your risk of certain cancers or heart disease.

But there are problems with deciding next steps: As intriguing as the research is, it's far from proof that vitamin D really is that powerful. Also, it's not clear just how much is enough _ and megadoses can harm.

Nor are there guidelines on exactly who should be tested, or how. Test during winter, for example, and in much of the country people will harbor considerably less vitamin D than if they were tested in the sunny summer.

Still, "the hope is so high that it will have some effect that everybody's asking for it," says Dr. Clifford Rosen of the Maine Medical Center, who is helping government researchers evaluate the research. "It's pretty much the wild, wild West right now."

Click here to continue reading article at AOL News

Dandelion Rubber Could Replace Rare Sources

Eric Bland, Discovery News

Aug. 5, 2008 -- Long the bane of lawn owners everywhere, the sunny-faced dandelion could revolutionize the rubber industry.

Scientists from Ohio State University's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) and the Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center (OBIC) recently received a $3 million grant to design and build a processing plant that would turn sticky white dandelion root sap into quality rubber for less money than current methods, say the scientists.

"No matter how much chemistry we've applied, we still haven't been able to find an artificial substitute for natural rubber," said William Ravlin, a researcher involved in the project. "We're still harvesting [rubber] the same way they did 1,000 years ago; by cutting into the tree and letting the sap drip into containers. It's not a very efficient system."

Efficiency, according to the Ohio scientists, would be Midwestern farmers in air-conditioned tractors harvesting acres of yellow dandelions with the same machines used to pull tulip bulbs.

Nearby lawn owners shouldn't panic. The dandelions the researchers will use aren't the ones disgracing our nation's lawns, which go by the species name Taraxacum officinale.

Click here to continue reading article at Discovery News