Pectin Power
Vic Morris and colleagues have found a new possible explanation for why people who eat more fruit and vegetables may gain protection against the spread of cancers. Most claims for the anticancer effects of foods are based on population studies; for this research they tested a molecular mechanism and showed that it is viable.
The IFR team, funded via the Institute’s Core Strategic Grant from BBSRC, have shown that a fragment released from pectin, found in all fruits and vegetables, binds to and is believed to inhibit galectin 3 (Gal3), a protein that plays a key role in many aspects of cancer progression.
The Complex pectin structure
Interaction between dietary carbohydrates and mammalian proteins, of which this research is an example, may provide an explanation for the protective effect of certain carbohydrates in the diet. Other food carbohydrates, such as beta glucans, are considered to be bioactive and their anticancer action has also been attributed to a carbohydrate-mammalian protein interaction.
This first step opens the way to a new and exciting area of research in bioactive carbohydrates. The next stage of the research is to identify how pectin fragments can be taken up by the body and released so that they can exert their effect on cancer cells. The research could result in functional foods with added ‘bioactive pectin’ as well as providing more conclusive evidence for the importance of a eating at least ‘5-a-day’.
The long-term aim of the research is to try to demonstrate a protective effect in the diet which could inhibit the spread of cancers, allowing earlier detection and more effective treatment with reduced toxic side effects. Understanding the molecular basis of the bioactivity offers the prospect of quantifying the effect and substantiating health claims for foods and diets.
Gunning, A. P., Bongaerts, R. J. M. & Morris, V. J. (2008) Recognition of galactan components of pectin by galectin-3. FASEB Journal doi:
10.1096/fj.08-106617
A press release describing this research provoked immense interest in the world-wide media, with coverage in the USA, Canada, Australia, Ireland, India, Italy, Poland, Vietnam, Brazil as well as major UK print and TV/radio outlets. Reporting was careful and accurate, and has resulted in new contacts for the team, and the possibility of commercial funding and new collaborations. The paper was also being cited in the academic literature even before publication, outcomes demonstrating the relevance of the work to BBSRC, our research sponsors.
We are always careful to say that our research is fundamental, and years upstream from application, but we still received a number of enquiries from people with cancer, and were able to point them in the direction of NHS briefings etc.
Killing 'Cdiff' with lysins
Bacteriophages are viruses that attack and kill bacterial cells, and so have been of interest for use against pathogenic bacteria. They invade bacterial cells, multiply, then burst out, destroying the bacterial cell.
The phenomenon of ‘lysis from without’ utilising bacteriophage endolysins, the enzymes that are responsible for bursting (lysing) the bacterial cell membrane, is well-established and has been of interest to IFR for many years in the food context.
In BBSRC-funded research the IFR team has identified a gene that, when transferred into Escherichia coli or Lactococcus lactis MG1363, produces a biologically active endolysin, able to kill Clostridium difficile cells. The endolysin is active against all 30 strains tested, including the hypervirulent 027 ribotype. However, it is specific to Clostridium difficile, having no activity against clostridium-like commensal species in the gut. This is important because C. difficile is most dangerous when the normal gut microbiota is disrupted (such as when patients are given antibiotics).
Several bacteriophages have been described that are active against Clostridium difficile, but so far they have all had a narrow host range. Bacteriophage endolysins have been studied as therapeutic agents against other pathogens, and it is a general feature that they are not as strain-specific as their bacteriophages.
Expression in L. lactis is important, as this has a well established capacity for the delivery of therapeutically effective vaccines in the GI tract.The endolysin was also shown to be active over a wide pH range, again suggesting it would be functional in the GI tract.
This endolysin provides a platform for the generation of both therapeutic and detection systems to combat the Clostridium difficile problem.
Mayer, M. J. et al (2008) Molecular characterisation of a Clostridium difficile bacteriophage and its cloned biologically active endolysin. Journal of Bacteriology 190 6734-6740
Adrenaline - new function for stress hormone
The successful interaction of bacterial pathogens with host tissues requires the sensing of specific chemical and physical cues. Adrenaline and noradrenaline have recently been shown to act synergistically with a bacterial quorum sensing molecule to affect virulence and motility in Escherichia coli. Does the same happen in Salmonella?
Arthur Thompson and Jay Hinton have combined forces with scientists at the Universities of Newcastle, Lancaster and Nottingham to investigate whether adrenaline has an impact on the biology of Salmonella spp. The research team found that Salmonella are able to sense adrenaline, which may provide an environmental cue for the induction of the Salmonella stress response in anticipation of imminent, host-derived oxidative stress. They point out that adrenaline may also enhance host defences by lowering the antimicrobial peptide resistance of the bacteria; this is the first time such a function has been described for a mammalian hormone.
Further reading: Karavolos, M. H. et al. (2008) Adrenaline modulates the global transcriptional profile of Salmonella revealing a role in the antimicrobial peptide and oxidative stress resistance responses. BMC Genomics at www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/9/458
Funding: Medical Research Council; BBSRC grant; BBSRC Core Strategic Grant; BBSRC DTA PhD studentship
Scientists identify breach in gut immune system barrier
Led by scientists at IFR, a multi-national team have identified a molecule that could improve the uptake of vaccines or drugs across the gut. The molecule could be used to design new, more effective and cheaper ways to orally deliver vaccines and drugs.
The molecule, called macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), increases the ability of highly specialised M cells to transport antigens across the gut wall. Some bacteria up-regulate M cells in order to gain access to the host immune system and colonise the gut. The team investigated whether this was mediated by molecules secreted by the bacteria or by host cells, and found that bacteria induce the production of MIF by the gut.
M cells guard the immune system by continuously transporting material across the epithelium, a barrier of cells lining the gut. Vaccination achieved in this way is highly advantageous and would confer mucosal immunity as well as systemic immunity. Only systemic immunity can be achieved through injections so is less effective. Mucosal immunity is very important as about 95% of pathogens infect the host via the mucosa.
The next step of the research is to test whether bioavailability of antigens can be improved via this route, and whether the molecule MIF produces any side effects.
Further reading: Man, A. L. et al. (2008) Macrophage migration inhibitory factor plays a role in the regulation of microfold (M) cell-mediated transport in the gut. The Journal of Immunology 181 5673-5680
Collaboration: Technology Research Group, Babraham Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom; Department of Pharmacology, University of Siena, Siena, Italy;Department of Microbiology, Ohio State University, USA
Funding:
Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; BBSRC; National Institutes of Health R01 AI51823
Procyanidins modulate gene expression
Beverages such as tea, cocoa and red wine are rich sources of chemicals called flavan-3-ol, which are polyphenolic antioxidant plant metabolites. They are also abundant in apples, berries, grapes and some herbal remedies. Dietary intervention studies indicate that they have protective effects against vascular dysfunction and prevention of Coronary Heart Disease. The extracts are usually mixtures, and the observations do not provide information on the bioactive components.
An array and functional analysis led at IFR by Paul Kroon has demonstrated that a particular type of flavan-3-ol, the procyanidins, are associated with key events in the angiogenic process. But they were able to show that it is only the oligomeric procyanidins, but not the monomers and dimers, that are active in terms of inhibiting cell migration and affecting the genes involved.
Their conclusion is that the molecular changes may be an important mechanism underlying the cardiovascular protection provided by procyanidins, and that some of the regulated proteins may be novel biomarkers for procyanidin exposure. His group are now investigating how procyanidins interact with the cells to induce these changes.
Further reading: García-Conesa, M-T. et al. (2009) Oligomeric procyanidins inhibit cell migration and modulate the expression of migration and proliferation associated genes in human umbilical vascular endothelial cells. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research 53 in press. DOI 10.1002/mnfr.200800134
Funding: MEC and FEDER (AGL2005-24849-E) and EC FOOD-CT-2004-513960 (FLAVO)
Collaboration: CEBAS-CSIC, Murcia, Spain; INRA, Le Rheu, France
Optimising 'use by' dates
Until now, industry has used the so-called F-value to quantify the microbial efficiency of a
heat treatment applied to foods. According to this, the efficiency of one treatment (using a
certain combination of heating temperature and time) is equal to another if they result in
the same decimal reduction of the bacterial concentration.
This definition is not useful at low heating temperatures, where bacteria are damaged but
not destroyed.
The IFR team, working in collaboration with Bernard Mackey at the University of Reading,
have demonstrated that a measure of the damage can be quantified by the repair time the
bacteria need to grow again. According to the theory they have developed, this repair time
and the F-value can be unified in a new parameter, quantifying the microbial damage,
which is equally applicable to high and low heating temperatures, regardless of whether
the bacterial concentration decreases or not.
The theory is important in studying the efficiency of heating, for example by microwaves,
where the temperature distribution is broad; in some places much lower then elsewhere. The theory will play a crucial role in predicting the time when bacteria will be able to
re-grow after the food undergoes treatments.
Further reading: Métris, A. et al. (2008) Modelling the variability of the lag times of single cells of Listeria innocua
populations in response to sub-lethal and lethal heat treatments. Applied & Environmental Microbiology 74 6949-
6955
Funding: EU QLK1-CT-2001-01145 (BACANOVA); FP6-FOOD-023141 (HighQ RTE); BBSRC grant 4266A
www.ifr.ac.uk/Safety/comicro/
Detecting Communities
The human gastrointestinal tract contains a diverse collection of bacteria with more than
1000 species. Most of the gut bacteria are unculturable by conventional microbiological
methods and increasingly, molecular profiling techniques are being employed to examine
this complex community.
BBSRC-funded PhD student Carl Harrington has developed a culture-independent, semiquantitative
rapid method for detection of gut bacterial populations based on 16S rDNA
probes using a DNA microarray. The sensitivity of the microarray is about 8 x 104 cells/g
faecal sample, which is more sensitive than a number of existing profiling methods and
provides an alternative high-throughput approach to profile the human gut microbiota.
Further reading: Harrington, C. R. et al. (2008) A short-oligonucleotide microarray that allows improved detection
of gastrointestinal tract microbial communities. BMC Microbiology doi: 10.1186/1471-2180-8-195
Funding: Yakult provided additional funding to support this studentship
Multiple emulsions are 'WOW'
Low fat foods are an essential part of tackling rising levels of obesity, but many are not as
palatable as the full-fat product. Pete Wilde’s team, part-funded by DEFRA through the
Food Quality & Innovation LINK scheme, have been working with scientists from
Leatherhead Food International to investigate the concept of multiple emulsions; that is,
each oil droplet in the emulsion contains one or more water droplets. These are known as
Water in Oil in Water (WOW) emulsions. This approach ensures that, when consumed, the
structures that are sensed are oil droplets, so the sensory response should be similar to a
conventional emulsion.
They have found that a specific formulation combining emulsifiers and whey protein shows
good potential for making stable WOW emulsions, and the stability of the encapsulated
water droplets is the key for the final water-in-oil-in-water (WOW) emulsion. Their
preliminary sensory tests suggest that using WOWs can reduce the fat content by as much
as 40% and not affect sensory properties. Formulation is critical, and the next step is to
research applications in specific food product areas.
Foodallergens.info
Food Allergy Information
(www.foodallergens.info) is a website
that offers credible food allergy information
for a variety of audiences. The site provides
facts about food allergy, what it is and the
extent of the problem, possible causes and
prevention and symptoms, diagnosis and
treatment which are of general interest.
The legal requirements for food and
beverage manufacturers operating in or
exporting to the EU and guidelines for
avoiding unintentional presence of allergens
during manufacture are targeted to the
needs of the food industry and national
authorities. This information is vital for the
small- and medium-sized businesses that
form the core of European food
manufacturers if allergic consumers are to
eat safely and be properly informed by labelling. The website links to the InformAll Database and a food allergy portal.
The InformAll database contains information
about allergy causing foods, which is
relevant to clinicians and researchers in this
field whilst the portal accesses a collection
of critically assessed websites about food
allergy for consumers in different European
languages (English, French, Danish, German,
Hungarian, Italian, Polish and Spanish).
EuroPrevall IN PRINT
Reliable diagnosis of food allergy is dependent on the
analytes used. Approaches based on well-defined individual
molecules of either natural or recombinant origin are likely
to replace those based on
food extracts in the future. A special issue of
Molecular Nutrition & Food Research –
volume 52S - has been published, containing the
EuroPrevall allergen library papers. IFR scientists are cited in 5 of the papers; three
of which are joint with Rothamsted Research.
This platform is enabling the development of protein chips for food allergy diagnosis
with VBC Genomics.
Food composition – a sustained EuroFIR
All Networks of Excellence in FP6 have to become “sustainable”, i.e. to continue their work
after the European Commission funding ends. One of the ways to achieve this goal is to
create new legal entities that can continue the activities of the consortia and also generate
income to support their activities and potential services. EuroFIR’s sustainability plans are
well-advanced and they will establish an International non-profit Association (“Association
Internationale Sans But Lucratif”; abbreviated AISBL) based in Brussels. The concept is
well tried and tested in Europe.
The aims of EuroFIR AISBL will be the continued development, standardisation and
exploitation of the use of food composition information in Europe by regulators, industry
and academia. It will initially be supported from membership subscriptions and additional
funding secured through grants and consultancies. Initially over 40 of the existing 47
EuroFIR partner organisations will become members at some level. IFR will have a leading
role in the setting up and running of the AISBL, and will provide the Food Databanks
Exploitation Platform’s considerable expertise and technical support, together with
commercial opportunities for the further development of the UK’s Food Composition
Database, in close consultation with the Food Standards Agency.
Additionally, our membership of the AISBL will make an important contribution to the
Institute’s international reputation as one of the leading food and health centres in Europe.
Inside Science
Twelve gifted and talented science students from around the region spent three days on
an intensive workshop, hearing about the research we do first hand, meeting students,
post-docs and research assistants hearing exactly what it’s like to work in science.
They prepared their own
samples for a scanning
electron microscope,
leaned how to use an
HPLC and found out how
local MP Ian Gibson
fights the corner for
science in parliament.
This is the second time
we have organised the
workshop, and we are
following the ‘graduands’ to see what impact
spending time in a real
science environment has
on their future career
decisions.
Campylobacter on the move
Since January 2004, following on from Combase workshops in Malaysia, Pradeep
Malakar has been assisting with research training at the National Food Safety
Research Centre, located at University Putra Malaysia (UPM). His visit to Malaysia
in 2004 was made possible by a Royal Society Fellowship grant.
A recent outcome from the collaboration has been data on cross-contamination
and decontamination of naturally (as opposed to spiked)
Campylobacter jejuni-contaminated vegetables such as mung bean
sprouts used in preparing Ulam (a Malay mixed salad) in a domestic
environment. The data suggest that washing water is an important
factor in disseminating the organism but only provided a
0.4 log reduction in load. Blanching (85°C for 10 secs),
a cooking method used by some local people before
preparing Ulam, reduced the level of C. jejuni to undetectable levels. The information, which simulates
consumers’ food handling practices, will be useful for
risk-assessment models.
Further reading: Chai, L-C et al. (2008) Simulation of
cross-contamination and decontamination of
Campylobacter jejuni during handling of contaminated
raw vegetables in a domestic kitchen.
Journal of Food Protection 71 2448-2452
Funding: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research
(KAKENHI 191010) from the Japan Society for the
Promotion of Sciences; Science Fund,
Ministry of Science, Malaysia
Biopolymers from sugar cane
Kelen Cristina dos
Reis from the Food
Science
Department of the
University of
Lavras, Brazil spent
6 months of her
PhD studentship
with Klaus Wellner
and Visiting Scientist Andrew Smith,
investigating a biopolymer produced by
sugar cane with potential application in
agricultural, marine, and medical fields and
biodegradable packaging. She was able to
show that blends of polyhydroxybutyrate-hydroxyvalerate
(PHB-HV) with maize
starch have potential, particularly for uses
where conditions are less demanding in,
for example, packaging.
Reis, K. C. et al. (2008) Characterization of
polyhydroxybutyrate-hydroxyvalerate (PHB-HV)/maize
starch blend films. Journal of Food Engineering 89
(2008) 361–369 (doi: 10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2008.04.022)
Scholarship Award
Each year the British
Poultry Council presents
two Scholarship Awards
for research projects of
particular relevance to the
poultry industry. Richard
Bailey, a 3rd year PhD
student at IFR was nominated for an
award this year by his industrial CASE
partner, Aviagen Ltd. a poultry
breeding company based up in
Edinburgh. Richard has been
investigating enteric health in poultry,
focusing on a condition called
dysbacteriosis, which is a syndrome of
growing importance to animal welfare
and industry economics since the EU
ban on the use of antibiotic growth
promoters. He was presented with his
award at a dinner in the Houses of
Parliament in December by Dame
Deirdre Hutton, Chair of the Food
Standards Agency.
Nuffield Foundation comes
full circle
In 2008, Callum Gregory and Vijay Narbad studied with IFR as Nuffield
Foundation scholars, undertaking research projects during their A level studies. Vijay was
supervised by Carl Harrington, some eleven years after he himself was a Nuffield
Foundation student at IFR. Based on the work Vijay did, he has been awarded a ‘Gold’
Crest Award by the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
IFR in The City - A risky business
One of Norwich’s most respected food scientists will be honoured in a public discussion
during Science Week, 2009. Tom Gorsuch OBE was Director of Research and QA at
Colman Foods. He served on various government bodies including
the Food Advisory Committee and is a past President of the
Institute of Food Science & Technology. His choice of topic “Why is it
so difficult to understand uncertainty and risk?” will be presented by
David Spiegelhalter OBE FRS, Winton Professor of the Public
Understanding of Risk at the University of Cambridge, which he
combines with being a Senior Scientist in the MRC Biostatistics
Unit. His background is in medical statistics, including clinical trials
and drug safety, and he has consulted and taught in a number of
pharmaceutical companies. He acts as a statistical consultant to
the Healthcare Commission, advising on performance rating, monitoring targets,
risk-based hospital inspection, and surveillance methods.
The free event, chaired by Tim Smith, Chief Executive Officer of the Food Standards
Agency, takes place in the evening of March 9th at The Assembly House in Norwich.
To book, please contact IFR Communications.
Why does it do that?
IFR and the Institute of Physics (IoP)
recently collaborated on a
‘beer mat and sandwich bag’ campaign
in Norwich - 50,000 beer mats and
75,000 bags were distributed to pubs
and shops in the Norwich area posing
questions which we wanted people to
try and answer by doing experiments
and feeding back to the IoP website, or
via text to IoP. Instead of just giving out
facts they ask a question such as ‘which way are the
bubbles going
in your drink,
what’s the
longest straw
you can drink
out of or how
many times can
you fold a paper
bag?’
Allaboutwheat
Funded by the BBSRC, the John Innes
Centre and the Institute of Food
Research have developed an exhibition
and website on the history of wheat and
the impact this important crop has had on
mankind and the planet.
The exhibition, currently on display at
Gressenhall Farm & Workhouse in Norfolk,
was established to encourage dialogue
and to educate about the process of
growing wheat, and to gain a better
understanding of the needs of consumers
and growers.
www.allaboutwheat.info
Jellyvision
‘Jellyvision’, the annual school’s tallest
jelly competition, is a challenge set by
IFR to local schools. It is very hard to
make a jelly that stands more than
10cm tall, but by using food technology,
chemistry and engineering, taller jellies
are possible. The ‘Jellyvision’
experiment will shortly roll-out to School
Physics Clubs UK-wide, thanks to the
Institute of Physics.
Students in the City
Four PhD students based at IFR have
participated in a public engagement
event at The Forum in Norwich,
presenting posters about their work
and talking to visitors (over 400
members of the public voted for their
favourites). Out of 28 poster
presenters from across the Research
Park, Karen Prior won ‘Public’s
Favourite Poster’ and Kerry Bentley-Hewitt was awarded runner-up for
Best Overall Poster.
Busy at the Food Festival
IFR science was high-profile during the
2008 Bidwells Norwich & Norfolk Food
Festival with a number of events for all
the family, designed to introduce some of
the science behind our food. Events
included a showcase of IFR’s exploitation
platforms, which aim to put the IFR’s
science into practice in industry, a
discussion about pro- and prebiotics,
cookery theatre shows, exhibitions, film
screenings, and a public debate which
covered topics such as food security,
GM, rising prices and obesity.
Upcoming conferences
The Norwich BioScience Institutes campus is the place to be next year for
3 outstanding conferences: –
Total Food 2009
April 22nd to 24th sees the third in a series of biennial international conferences which
focus on the sustainable exploitation of agri-food co-products and related biomass,
thereby helping to minimise waste. The event will provide a forum to highlight recent
developments and to facilitate knowledge transfer between representatives of the
agri-food industries, scientific research community, legal experts on food-related
legislation and waste management, and consumer organisations. Themes to be
explored will range from the adding of value to co-products through to the recovery of
energy from waste streams. The meeting will be run by IFR under the auspices of the
Royal Society of Chemistry Food Group, and will comprise plenary lectures, short
talks, poster sessions, and focussed workshops.
www.ifr.ac.uk/totalfood2009/
or contact Dawn Barrett (dawn.barrett@ifr.ac.uk)
Mucosal Immunology and
Intestinal Microflora
At IFR we examine the gut as an integrated biological system and our exciting approach,
including the critical food dimension, differentiates our gastrointestinal tract research
from work undertaken in a more medical setting.
A one day symposium on 9th June, hosted by IFR, is designed to bring together
postgraduate students who work in aspects of gut immunity, host-pathogen interactions
within the gut and the use of probiotics. Confirmed keynote speakers include Michiel
Kleerebezem from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, Justin Sonnenburg from
Stanford University, USA and Thomas MacDonald from Queen Mary's School of
Medicine and Dentistry, London who are experts in the field of gut microbiology.
Postgraduate students are invited to participate during the symposium either by giving a
presentation, or presenting a poster to the audience of postgraduate students, post
doctoral researchers and principal investigators, who are also invited to attend.
A registration fee of £65 will include refreshments throughout the day, lunch, a social
dinner and transport to the evening event. Travel grants will be offered to those who are
presenting and prizes will be awarded for the best 4 posters.
www.ifr.ac.uk/gutsymposium09/
or contact Caroline Weight (caroline.weight@ifr.ac.uk)
Metabomeeting 2009
The European Forum for practitioners from academia, government and industry that
discusses the techniques and applications of metabolic profiling
(metabolomics/metabonomics) will take place at the Norwich BioScience Institutes
Conference facilities (5th-8th July).
The meeting, co-organised by IFR, the John Innes Centre, and the Metabolic Profiling
Forum, follows on from the highly successful meetings at the University of Cambridge,
Imperial College London and the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon.
www.thempf.org/MM09/general_info.html
or contact Marianne Defernez
(marianne.defernez@ifr.ac.uk )
