Dr Paola Paone, Dr. Matthias Van Hul and Prof. Patrice D. Cani and their team published in GUT (https://gut.bmj.com/content/73/10/1632) their discovery related to the potential health benefits of a special prebiotic naturally found in human breast milk, called 2’-fucosyllactose (2’FL). In this study, they wanted to understand how this prebiotic might help prevent gut barrier disorders and related weight gain, fat accumulation and type 2 diabetes. To investigate this, mice were fed with a high-fat diet, with or without the addition of 2’FL. They found that mice receiving 2’FL gained less weight and had better control of their blood sugar compared to those that did not receive it. But beyond these effects, the study also revealed fascinating changes happening in the gut. The presence of 2’FL improved the production and quality of the mucus layer that protects the gut lining. They observed an increase in Akkermansia and Bacteroides, moreover, 2’FL modified the mucus, as well as factors such as the endocannabinoid system, that helps regulate appetite, metabolism, and inflammation. Interestingly, when they investigated stool samples from lean and obese humans, they found similar patterns to those seen in the mice, suggesting that these effects could also be relevant in people. Overall, this study shows that 2’FL, a natural prebiotic from human milk, can positively influence gut health and metabolism.
What is the gut microbiota? The vast majority of the bacteria detected by sequencing methods have never been cultured!! But how can we isolate new bacterium from the intestine? How can we identify a novel bacterium? HERE IS THE EXAMPLE of a new bacterium: Dysosmobacter welbionis J115T, isolated in our team, UCLouvain, WELBIO project, Belgium. Tiphaine Le Roy and Emilie Moens de Hase discovered that Dysosmobacter welbionis was found in 70% of the general population. D. welbionis is inversely correlated with body mass index (BMI), glycemia and glycated hemoglobin in overweight and obese subject with a metabolic syndrome. Mice treated with live D. welbionis are partially protected against diet-induced obesity and fat mass gain, have improved glucose tolerance and lower insulin resistance. The bacterium reduces white adipose tissue hypertrophy and inflammation together with increased number of mitochondria in brown-adipose tissue and non-shivering thermogenesis. See the original paper published in GUT https://dx.doi.org/10.1136/gutjnl-2020-323778
You are living with 100 trillion bacteria in your gut, which vastly outnumber your own human cells. Over the last 15 years, the research community has made incredible discoveries about these little fellows. How? By digging through your poop... But what have we learned from this?
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