Taiwanese researchers find bacteria to treat fatty liver disease 2013/03/16 21:26:54 Taipei, March 16 (CNA) A research team at central Taiwan's Hungkuang University, has succeeded in finding four strains of lactic acid bacteria that may be effective in treating fatty liver, a condition that affects people who are obese or drink a lot of alcohol, the team leader said Friday. Researchers sorted out the functional lactic acid bacteria from millions of their kind, and then fed alcohol-addicted mice with the bacteria under laboratory control, said Tsen Hau-yang, dean of the university's College of Human Ecology. After eight weeks of the feeding practice, the mice's alcoholic-incurred fatty liver condition was found to have shown obvious improvement, Tsen said, noting that the research result has been patented.Now the school in Taichung is talking with local biotechnology companies on technology transfers that will enable the production and marketing of health care foods containing the patented lactic acid bacteria, Tsen said. He expected such dietary supplement targeting fatty liver in humans will be launched in the market within one year. Under Taiwan's draft regulations, dietary or health supplements must pass animal trials to acquire an official permit for sale in the market. The draft is expected to be approved by the Department of Health, the top health authority of the country, this year, according to Tsen's secretary Lin Chun-hao. Taiwan's laws do not require companies making dietary or health supplements to conduct clinical trials on humans. For his part, Tsen said he is confident in the ability of lactic acid bacteria-containing products, such as yogurt, in strengthening the immunity of the gastrointestinal system in humans.Apart from the lactic acid bacteria used to improve fatty liver conditions, his research team has also developed lactic acid bacteria-containing feeds that can protect chickens from contracting salmonella, Tsen said.In recent years, Hungkuang University has been working to establish an academic/industrial alliance that focuses on the development and production of lactic acid bacteria-containing foods that promote and help maintain human health, the school said. (By Sophia Chen and Elizabeth Hsu)
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