New study explains the effect of coriander against epileptic seizures
Herbs, including coriander, have long been used as folk remedies. The study published in the FASEB Journal explains the molecular effect of the medicinal herb (Coriandrum sativum) as a highly effective activator of potassium channels. This enables coriande to effectively inhibit epileptic seizures.
A huge carpet of algae has formed in the Baltic Sea, driving people away from Polish beaches but exciting scientists researching cancer and antibiotics. These are blue-green algae, which are actually not algae, but cyanobacteria. They are primarily caused by the excess of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in the water. If the wind is right, the blue-green algae could reach the coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Exceptionally high temperaturesand a lack of wind have increased algae blooms, scientists say. The Finnish Meteorological Institute said this July was the hottest on record.
"The environment gives back to us what we put into it, and so it works like a kind of boomerang," said Hanna Mazur-Marzec, a professor at the Polish Academy of Sciences' Oceanology Institute in Sopot, on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea.
Finnish environmental institute SYKE said the algae outbreak, which was particularly felt in the Gulf of Finland and extends to the Polish coast, was one of the worst in the last decade.
“In the lakes, we had a five-week period that was higher than the average over the last 20 years,” SYKE said. “Climate change and global warming in the Baltic Sea region and in the lakes increase the risk of cyanobacteria formation.”
Toxins from cyanobacteria pose a risk to the marine ecosystem - particularly mussels and flounder fish - and also threaten human health, SYKE said.
People in Poland, Lithuania and Sweden have been advised by authorities not to swim in waters where the algae blooms. The blue-green algae can cause skin irritation.
However, some scientists are pleased that cyanobacteria are known to be a source of unique compounds. With their help, substances to which bacteria are sensitive can be examined in order to counteract the increasing spread of bacterial resistance.
“It is a great opportunity to collect material (for research purposes). We’ve had problems with this in recent years,” Mazur-Marzec said. “Now we can fish a whole bucket of algae.”
