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Determination of Phylloquinone and Menaquinones in Foods by HPLC\n\nTerhi Koivu-Tikkanen\n\nAcademic Dissertation, January 2001. \nUniversity of Helsinki, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, \nDepartment of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology

"If you're running low on vitamin D - as an estimated 70 percent of the U.S. population is - your immune system may not be functioning as well as it should. As a result, you may be more vulnerable to infectious diseases than you would if your vitamin D levels were optimal. Worse, you could be at higher than normal risk of a long list of diseases including heart disease and several kinds of cancer. A report recently published journal, Future Microbiology, highlighted research at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, which has shown that vitamin D induces expression of an antimicrobial peptide gene called cathelicidin that is the "first line of defense" in the immune system's response to minor wounds, cuts and bacterial and viral infections. The regulation of cathelicidin by vitamin D could help explain its vital role in immune function. The report noted that vitamin D is a key cofactor in reducing inflammation, in blood pressure control and helping to protect against heart disease. Author Adrian Gombart explains that there is still much to explore about D's mechanisms of action, the potential use of synthetic analogs of it in new treatments, and its duty in fighting infection."

Ross ZM, O'Gara EA, Hill DJ, Sleightholme HV, Maslin DJ. Antimicrobial properties of garlic oil against human enteric bacteria: evaluation of methodologies and comparisons with garlic oil sulfides and garlic powder. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2001 Jan;67(1)

Time-dependent persistence of enhanced immune response by a potential probiotic strain Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei NTU 101. Tsai YT, Cheng PC, Fan CK, Pan TM. Int J Food Microbiol. 2008 Dec 10;128(2):219-25. Epub 2008 Aug 26. PMID: 18809220 doi:10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2008.08.009  

'germ' actually refers to any microorganism, especially those microorganisms that cause disease.

The vitamin D-antimicrobial peptide pathway and its role in protection against infection. Gombart AF. Future Microbiol. 2009 Nov;4:1151-65. PMID: 19895218 doi:10.2217/fmb.09.87