Biome

UCLA researchers gained insight into the connections among childhood trauma, brain development and the composition of the gut microbiome.

Sunlight, through a mechanism separate than vitamin D production, energizes T cells that play a central role in human immunity, researchers have found. The findings suggest how the skin, the body’s largest organ, stays alert to the many microbes that can nest there.

Did you know that probiotic bacteria are capable of helping you detoxify the most noxious chemicals known to humankind?

Researchers have discovered that the devastating bacterial superbug Clostridioides difficile hijacks the human wound healing system in order to cause serious and persistent disease, opening up the development of new therapies to treat the disease.

How can we lower our risk of dementia, dissolve brain fog, and maximize our mental capacity?

AIM: Long-term dietary intake of non-caloric fiber, such as Aloe vera gel influences the structural and activity of micro-organisms in the human gut. The present investigation was executed with an innovative concept: symbiotic effect of probiotics that are used commercially as lactic acid bacteria i.e. Lactobacillus fermentum and Aloe vera juice as prebiotics for a prospective prophylaxis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fermentation of L. fermentum with Aloe vera juice certified by International Aloe Science Council was carried out and the quantification of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) from the fermentation broth in large scale was determined by gas-chromatography-mass-spectrometry selective detection in the selective ion monitoring mode. RESULTS: The growth of L. fermentum and L. helveticus with Aloe vera juice (AVJ) individually on MRS broth was continued to keep at pH 3.5 and 3.6, while pH of the negative controls changed to 4.3 and 4.0, respectively, during 24 hr incubation. The growth rate and the viability of L. helveticus incubated with different concentrations (5-25%) of Aloe vera juice were strongly reduced. However, the growth rate of L. fermentum was enhanced in a concentration dependent manner with emphasis on the use of 15% AVJ that resulted in two times more growth than that of the negative control. Continuation of L. fermentum growth at pH 3.6 in combination with AVJ during incubation for 24 hr suggests the durability of prebiotic potential by AVJ in in vitro fermentation. Acetic, propionic and lactic acid as SCFAs in the ether extract were identified from the fermentation culture medium. CONCLUSION: The prebiotic activity of AVJ may be assessed by the participation of SCFAs during 24 hrs-incubation with L. fermentum. An innovative concept of symbiotics: a combination of AVJ and L. fermentum, is a perspective prophylaxis on future intestinal health claims. Due to tolerance to acid, L. fermentum may pass through the gastric barrier and colonize the intestine after oral administration.

It turns out that the brain, which has historically thought to be a sterile environment, may actually be host to its own microbiome; not unlike the environment of the gut!

Background Type II diabetes is a chronic health condition which is associated with skin conditions including chronic foot ulcers and an increased incidence of skin infections. The skin microbiome is thought to play important roles in skin defence and immune functioning. Diabetes affects the skin environment, and this may perturb skin microbiome with possible implications for skin infections and wound healing. This study examines the skin and wound microbiome in type II diabetes. Methods Eight type II diabetic subjects with chronic foot ulcers were followed over a time course of 10 weeks, sampling from both foot skin (swabs) and wounds (swabs and debrided tissue) every two weeks. A control group of eight control subjects was also followed over 10 weeks, and skin swabs collected from the foot skin every two weeks. Samples were processed for DNA and subject to 16S rRNA gene PCR and sequencing of the V4 region. Results The diabetic skin microbiome was significantly less diverse than control skin. Community composition was also significantly different between diabetic and control skin, however the most abundant taxa were similar between groups, with differences driven by very low abundant members of the skin communities. Chronic wounds tended to be dominated by the most abundant skin Staphylococcus, while other abundant wound taxa differed by patient. No significant correlations were found between wound duration or healing status and the abundance of any particular taxa. Discussion The major difference observed in this study of the skin microbiome associated with diabetes was a significant reduction in diversity. The long-term effects of reduced diversity are not yet well understood, but are often associated with disease conditions.

Between the hard and fast dichotomies of cooked and raw, dead and alive, is this beautiful thing called fermented...

Emerging evidence points toward an important role of the gut-brain axis in neuropsychiatric diseases, suggesting that gut bacteria may be integral contributors to development and function of the nervous system and to the balance between mental health and disease.

The consumption of dietary supplements and cold therapies containing high concentrations of zinc is now being called into question, following research that suggests it may worsen Clostridium difficile infection.

Exposure to life stressors exacerbates gastrointestinal conditions, including inflammatory bowel diseases and irritable bowel syndrome, however the me…

Complex communities of microbes live on and in plants, humans and other animals. These communities are collectively referred to as the microbiota or microbiome. Plants and animals evolved to co-exist...

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Recent research studies have shown that the intestinal flora are related to the occurrence and progress of breast cancer. This study investigates the effect of fucoidan on intestinal flora and intestinal barrier function in rats with 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced breast cancers. Sixty female

“It’s the end of the road for antibiotics unless we act urgently,” - Dr. Tom Friedman

Two studies - one in mice and the other in human subjects - offer the first definitive evidence that exercise alone can change the composition of microbes in the gut. The studies were designed to isolate ...

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative motor neuron disease accompanied by both systemic and central nervous system–specific…

The Human Microbiome is a diverse and complex microbial community that resides in our gastrointestinal tracts and has been coined a forgotten target metabolic “organ”. With the advent and application of next generation gene sequencing, the microbiome has become appreciated as integral to a number of physiological functions including endocrine, neurology and acquisition of nutrition, and immunity. The state of a healthy biome is a function of diversity and compositional balance. Dynamic alterations to the microbiome have been attributed to a number of factors such as diet, environmental toxins, and medication such as antibiotics.

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At first glance, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) appears to be a far-fetched procedure devised as a slapstick plot for a sit-com series. However, this innovative technique may revolutionize the future of medical treatments for a host of maladies including autoimmune and allergic diseases as well as autism spectrum disorder.

Cornell Immunotoxicologist, Rodney Dieter, discusses ways to change your diet and microbiome to dampen inflammation, allergies and autoimmune responses.

Beginning at birth, the microbes in the gut perform essential duties related to the digestion and metabolism of food, the development and activation of the immune system, and the production of neurotransmitters that affect behavior and cognitive function.The ...