01.15.21
According to a new clinical trial published by National Institutes of Health researchers in the journal Cell, the amino acid taurine possesses useful properties which aid the body’s natural defenses against invading bacteria, including the strain Kebsiella pneumoniae (Kpn). The authors believe that identifying nutritive solutions to bacterial infections could lead to the discovery of alternative therapies to antibiotic treatment. One of taurine’s metabolic byproducts plays an effective role in preventing the colonization of harmful bacteria, allowing beneficial “probiotic” bacteria to flourish.
While scientists know that certain bacterial strains in the gut can protect people from bacterial infections, little is known about how they work. Antibiotic treatments, while curing or treating bacterial infections, make the natural defenses and other health benefits offered by the gut microbiota less effective – likewise, harmful bacteria could become drug resistant in the process of antibiotic treatment.
An in vitro trial revealed to the researchers that gut bacteria which had experienced prior infection, which were then transferred to germ-free mice, were able to prevent Kpn infection in the newly-infected mice. They also identified a class of bacteria – Deltaproteobacteria – which were involved in fighting the infections. Taurine was identified as a trigger for Deltaproteobacteria activity.
Taurine’s primary function is to help the body digest fats and oils, during which it produces hydrogen sulfide as a byproduct. The authors hypothesized that the hydrogen sulfide produced as a byproduct of taurine’s activity helped prevent the colonization of harmful bacteria. The liver and gallbladder were shown to store bile acids containing taurine, and that these organs could develop a long-term infection protection.
“Taurine given to mice as a supplement in drinking water also prepared the microbiota to prevent infection. However, when mice drank water containing bismuth subsalicylate – a common over-the-counter drug used to treat diarrhea and upset stomach – infection protection waned because bismuth inhibits hydrogen sulfide production,” NIH said in a written statement.
While scientists know that certain bacterial strains in the gut can protect people from bacterial infections, little is known about how they work. Antibiotic treatments, while curing or treating bacterial infections, make the natural defenses and other health benefits offered by the gut microbiota less effective – likewise, harmful bacteria could become drug resistant in the process of antibiotic treatment.
An in vitro trial revealed to the researchers that gut bacteria which had experienced prior infection, which were then transferred to germ-free mice, were able to prevent Kpn infection in the newly-infected mice. They also identified a class of bacteria – Deltaproteobacteria – which were involved in fighting the infections. Taurine was identified as a trigger for Deltaproteobacteria activity.
Taurine’s primary function is to help the body digest fats and oils, during which it produces hydrogen sulfide as a byproduct. The authors hypothesized that the hydrogen sulfide produced as a byproduct of taurine’s activity helped prevent the colonization of harmful bacteria. The liver and gallbladder were shown to store bile acids containing taurine, and that these organs could develop a long-term infection protection.
“Taurine given to mice as a supplement in drinking water also prepared the microbiota to prevent infection. However, when mice drank water containing bismuth subsalicylate – a common over-the-counter drug used to treat diarrhea and upset stomach – infection protection waned because bismuth inhibits hydrogen sulfide production,” NIH said in a written statement.