I recently saw a post/reply that listed GSE as being used for disinfectant purposes and while I hadn't seen any similar posts/notations, I checked & there are quite a few over the years, but apparently, due to some constraints in the forums search parameters, searching for GSE will not get any hits, while searching for grapefruit seed extract will get you a bunch of hits, so, I'd like to post the following to provide the forums with some more up to date information on the topic:
GSE - Grapefruit Seed Extract
Another subject that elicits numerous discussion and/or arguments on many bird forums/groups is that of whether grapefruit seed extract has any real benefit. Purported, by many, usually those selling it, to be a broad spectrum ‘wonder’ product, GSE is promoted as “…a broad spectrum antimicrobial compound synthesized from the seeds and pulp of grapefruits,” with recommended uses being:
• Cold Sores
• Cuts
• Dandruff
• Diaper rash
• Diarrhea
• Ear infections
• Flu
• Food poisoning
• Fungus Infections
• Herpes
• Parasites
• Periodontal disease
• Sore throats
• Urinary tract infections
• Warts
A study conducted at the Institute of Pharmacy, Ernst Moritz Arndt University, Greifswald, Germany, in 1999, found:
“Thus, it is concluded that the potent as well as nearly universal antimicrobial activity being attributed to grapefruit seed extract is merely due to the synthetic preservative agents contained within. Natural products with antimicrobial activity do not appear to be present.
”Subsequent findings by USDA researchers, in Identification Of Benzethonium Chloride In Commercial Grapefruit Seed Extracts, 2001, dispel the miracle myth and concluded that:
“In our search for natural antifungal agents effective against aspergillus flavus we examined the chemical composition and activity of commercially available grapefruit seed extracts as well as extracts prepared in our laboratory by extraction of grapefruit seeds with ethanol. Confirming an earlier study by researchers in Germany we found that some commercial grapefruit seed extracts contain benzethonium chloride, a synthetic antimicrobial agent commonly used in cosmetics and only approved for topical use.
At relatively high levels of 8%. It is unlikely that benzethonium chloride is formed during any extraction. or processing of grapefruit seeds and pulp.”
Whether GSE is harmful to our feathered friends or not, I do not know, but to quote a member of a newsgroup I belong to, speaking of benzethonium chloride:
“What was even more disturbing is that this chemical is not listed in the ingredients of those products even though it could not have gotten there by accident or unintentionally.”
This parrot lover goes on to state:
“There are certainly other means of providing safe drinking & bathing water to our birds as well as disinfectants that are safe. It’s up to you, but if you want to see whether or not you consider benzethonium chloride safe for you or your birds to be drinking & eating.......... This makes it a ripe field for fraud.”
Todd Caldecott, in his article Grapefruit Seed Extract is alarmed by the widespread usage of GSE (Caldecott is a Canadian clinical herbalist, Ayurvedic practitioner):
“The ubiquitous and widespread usage of grapefruit seed extract (GSE) within the health food industry, including its use by supposedly knowledgeable practitioners, is an issue of serious concern for me as a herbalist, researcher and clinician.”
Something you might want to consider, while researching and reading about herbal supplements and additives, is that many of the popular internet discussion boards may be censored. Where messages that are counter to the teachings and beliefs of the board’s owner and/or moderators never make it to posting or are removed after having been posted.
The censoring and skewed information problem is not limited to the supplement and additive groups. Although it is not readily apparent, this may happen all too often in moderated newsgroups. The following reply was posted, to one of the parrot newsgroups that I am a member of, during a conversation thread about censored posts:
“I can only speak about from my own personal experience. My posts were edited by the moderators and then posted incomplete. When I posted to the group that my posts were being censored, they never made it - they were completely censored.”
One well published behaviorist is known to have placed a group member on permanent ‘monitor’ status and to have basically told him that anything that was contrary to the philosophy of her group would not be allowed to be posted.
I was banned from a parrot newsgroup when I questioned some advice that one of the forum moderators was giving as a suggested technique for stopping a conure from biting. The advice being given amounted to ‘flooding, a technique thought by some, to be a form of abuse. I was told that because I was not certified in avian behavior or training, I should not
question ‘expert’ advice.
As I stated in my introduction (this was originally part of another publication), anyone can proclaim themselves an expert. You may want to ask for or research an “expert’s” credentials if they are not published in media other than the internet or otherwise recognized as an “expert.”
The sad part of these pompous and pretentious attitudes, in some internet newsgroups, is that those seeking information may not realize what they are being told is skewed and their feathered friends are the ones that end up being the real losers.
Always keep an open mind and seek information from different sources. Weigh what you read/learn and if you don’t think that what you have read/learned is enough, seek additional information, your feathered friends may not thank you for it but you will be glad you did, in the end.
Thanks for reading.....
GSE - Grapefruit Seed Extract
Another subject that elicits numerous discussion and/or arguments on many bird forums/groups is that of whether grapefruit seed extract has any real benefit. Purported, by many, usually those selling it, to be a broad spectrum ‘wonder’ product, GSE is promoted as “…a broad spectrum antimicrobial compound synthesized from the seeds and pulp of grapefruits,” with recommended uses being:
• Cold Sores
• Cuts
• Dandruff
• Diaper rash
• Diarrhea
• Ear infections
• Flu
• Food poisoning
• Fungus Infections
• Herpes
• Parasites
• Periodontal disease
• Sore throats
• Urinary tract infections
• Warts
A study conducted at the Institute of Pharmacy, Ernst Moritz Arndt University, Greifswald, Germany, in 1999, found:
“Thus, it is concluded that the potent as well as nearly universal antimicrobial activity being attributed to grapefruit seed extract is merely due to the synthetic preservative agents contained within. Natural products with antimicrobial activity do not appear to be present.
”Subsequent findings by USDA researchers, in Identification Of Benzethonium Chloride In Commercial Grapefruit Seed Extracts, 2001, dispel the miracle myth and concluded that:
“In our search for natural antifungal agents effective against aspergillus flavus we examined the chemical composition and activity of commercially available grapefruit seed extracts as well as extracts prepared in our laboratory by extraction of grapefruit seeds with ethanol. Confirming an earlier study by researchers in Germany we found that some commercial grapefruit seed extracts contain benzethonium chloride, a synthetic antimicrobial agent commonly used in cosmetics and only approved for topical use.
At relatively high levels of 8%. It is unlikely that benzethonium chloride is formed during any extraction. or processing of grapefruit seeds and pulp.”
Whether GSE is harmful to our feathered friends or not, I do not know, but to quote a member of a newsgroup I belong to, speaking of benzethonium chloride:
“What was even more disturbing is that this chemical is not listed in the ingredients of those products even though it could not have gotten there by accident or unintentionally.”
This parrot lover goes on to state:
“There are certainly other means of providing safe drinking & bathing water to our birds as well as disinfectants that are safe. It’s up to you, but if you want to see whether or not you consider benzethonium chloride safe for you or your birds to be drinking & eating.......... This makes it a ripe field for fraud.”
Todd Caldecott, in his article Grapefruit Seed Extract is alarmed by the widespread usage of GSE (Caldecott is a Canadian clinical herbalist, Ayurvedic practitioner):
“The ubiquitous and widespread usage of grapefruit seed extract (GSE) within the health food industry, including its use by supposedly knowledgeable practitioners, is an issue of serious concern for me as a herbalist, researcher and clinician.”
Something you might want to consider, while researching and reading about herbal supplements and additives, is that many of the popular internet discussion boards may be censored. Where messages that are counter to the teachings and beliefs of the board’s owner and/or moderators never make it to posting or are removed after having been posted.
The censoring and skewed information problem is not limited to the supplement and additive groups. Although it is not readily apparent, this may happen all too often in moderated newsgroups. The following reply was posted, to one of the parrot newsgroups that I am a member of, during a conversation thread about censored posts:
“I can only speak about from my own personal experience. My posts were edited by the moderators and then posted incomplete. When I posted to the group that my posts were being censored, they never made it - they were completely censored.”
One well published behaviorist is known to have placed a group member on permanent ‘monitor’ status and to have basically told him that anything that was contrary to the philosophy of her group would not be allowed to be posted.
I was banned from a parrot newsgroup when I questioned some advice that one of the forum moderators was giving as a suggested technique for stopping a conure from biting. The advice being given amounted to ‘flooding, a technique thought by some, to be a form of abuse. I was told that because I was not certified in avian behavior or training, I should not
question ‘expert’ advice.
As I stated in my introduction (this was originally part of another publication), anyone can proclaim themselves an expert. You may want to ask for or research an “expert’s” credentials if they are not published in media other than the internet or otherwise recognized as an “expert.”
The sad part of these pompous and pretentious attitudes, in some internet newsgroups, is that those seeking information may not realize what they are being told is skewed and their feathered friends are the ones that end up being the real losers.
Always keep an open mind and seek information from different sources. Weigh what you read/learn and if you don’t think that what you have read/learned is enough, seek additional information, your feathered friends may not thank you for it but you will be glad you did, in the end.
Thanks for reading.....
