In a new study, researchers have discovered that one of the good bacteria found in the human gut has a benefit that has remained unrecognized until now: the potential to reduce the risk of heart disease.
The research was conducted by a team at Ohio State University.
The bacteria’s activity in the intestines reduces the production of a chemical that has been linked to the development of clogged arteries.
After it’s manufactured in the gut, the chemical enters the bloodstream and travels to the liver, where it is converted into its most harmful form.
In the study, the researchers have traced the bacteria’s behavior to a family of proteins that they suspect could explain other ways that good gut organisms can contribute to human health.
In essence, these microbes compete with bad bacteria for access to the same nutrients in the gut – and if the good bacteria win, they may prevent health problems that can result from how the body metabolizes food.
Much more work is ahead, but the scientists see the potential for this microbe, Eubacterium limosum, to be used for therapeutic purposes in the future.
Previous research has already shown the bacterium is “good” because it calms inflammation in the gut.
The chemical linked to the clogged arteries that characterize atherosclerosis is called trimethylamine, or TMA.
It is produced during metabolism when some intestinal microbes – generally the bacteria considered unhelpful to humans – interact with certain nutrients from food.
Among those nutrients is L-carnitine, a chemical compound found in meat and fish that is also used as a nutritional supplement to improve recovery after exercise.
The team says finding this one significant health benefit in one species of gut bacteria suggests there is still a lot to learn about how gut bacteria can influence health outcomes associated with human metabolism.
One author of the study is Joseph Krzycki, professor of microbiology at Ohio State.
The study is published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry.
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