Linoleic Acid as a Preventative and/or Therapeutic Agent for Cholera

Jeffrey Withey of Wayne State University in the U.S. will test whether oral consumption of the unsaturated fatty acid linoleic acid could be used as a simple low-cost therapeutic to block the production of cholera toxin by the bacterium V. cholerae, which causes diarrhea. Linoleic acid could be used as a preventative therapy or as a supplement to the standard treatment of oral rehydration solution to improve recovery time for cholera patients.