Study: For each 10% increase of bacteria type in the gut, risk of hospitalization for infection falls by up to a quarter (Butyrate-producing bacteria)

Medical Xpress / European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases / ECCMID 2024 ^ | March 22, 2024 | Robert Kullberg et al

[ConservativeMind]

A study of two large European patient cohorts has found that for every 10% increase in butyrate-producing bacteria in a patient's gut, the risk of hospitalization for any infection falls by between 14 and 25% across two large national cohorts.

Microbiota alterations are common in patients hospitalized for severe infections and preclinical models have shown that anaerobic butyrate-producing gut bacteria protect against systemic infections. These bacteria were investigated because they are commonly depleted in patients hospitalized for severe infections. Secondly, butyrate may have protective effects in several intestinal diseases (other than infections).

The relationship between microbiota disruptions and increased susceptibility to severe infections in humans remains unclear. In this study, the authors investigated the relationship between baseline gut microbiota and the risk of future infection-related hospitalization in two large population-based cohorts—from the Netherlands (derivation; HELIUS) and Finland (validation; FINRISK 2002).

The primary outcome was hospitalization or mortality due to any infectious disease during five- to seven-year follow-up after fecal sample collection, based on national registry data. The authors then examined associations between microbiota and infection risk using computer modeling. Further statistical modeling was used to adjust for variables.

Researchers, led by Robert Kullberg, profiled gut microbiota from 10,699 participants (4,248 from The Netherlands and 6,451 from Finland. A total of 602 participants (The Netherlands: n=152; Finland: n=450) were hospitalized or died due to infections (mainly community-acquired pneumonia) during follow-up.

Gut microbiota composition of these hospitalized/deceased participants differed from those without hospitalization for infections. Specifically, each 10% higher abundance of butyrate-producing bacteria was associated with a reduced risk of hospitalization for infections—25% lower for participants from the Dutch cohort and 14% lower for the Finnish cohort. All types of infections were assessed together, not any one in particular. These associations remained unchanged following adjustment for demographics, lifestyle, antibiotic exposure, and comorbidities.

[ConservativeMind]

You can easily increase the number of butyrate-producing bacteria by eat more soluble fiber, and, strangely, by eating more antioxidants. It’s not easy to supplement many of the varieties of bacteria, because they aren’t in probiotic formulas, though.

I’ll post some examples of antioxidants that help specific bacteria to multiple, in a subsequent post.

[Williams]

Thank you.

[ConservativeMind]

From “ Butyrate producers, “The Sentinel of Gut”: Their intestinal significance with and beyond butyrate, and prospective use as microbial therapeutics”

Polyphenol intervention significantly increases the abundance of butyrate producers such as Faecalibacterium and members of the Ruminococcaceae family (Del Bo et al., 2021). Among other polyphenols, the impact of catechins, anthocyanins, and proanthocyanidins as prebiotics is more evident because they increase the abundance of Roseburia and Faecalibacterium spp. (Alves-Santos et al., 2020). Other phenolic compounds such as caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, and rutin are also reported to increase microbial butyrate (Catalkaya et al., 2020). Additionally, the microbial accessibility of different prebiotics also varies among butyrate producers; therefore, the administration of different prebiotics can selectively enrich specific butyrate producers (Table 2). Other than prebiotics, synbiotic treatments can also be administered to promote butyrate production in the gut (Gurry, 2017). Synbiotics contain a combination of prebiotics and probiotics, and their synergistic effects are more prominent than those of prebiotics and probiotics used individually (Singh et al., 2021). Synbiotic treatment with Bacillus subtilis DSM 32315 and L-Alanyl-L-glutamine improved butyrate levels and enhanced the major butyrate producers such as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, both in vitro and in humans (tom Dieck et al., 2022). Similarly, another study reported the prevalence of butyrate-producing Eubacterium and Pseudobutyrivibrio upon synbiotic administration of fiber-enriched yogurt (Jaagura et al., 2022).

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9877435/ Inulin, guar gum, fructooligosaccharide (FOS) and pectin were specifically noted to also help, in prior studies.

[ConservativeMind]

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[Manuel OKelley]

Thanks

[Fungi]

Eat yogurt, sauerkraut and kimchee!!! But be careful with kimchee. Was hungry one day, bought a small bottle and ate nearlly all of it. Bad decision, thirty minutes later that went through me like a freight train and could not find a rest room fast enough.

[dfwgator]

I pretty much eat sauerkraut with every meal.

[logi_cal869]

What few people understand is that research on the gut is so slow and underfunded that it will be 5 decades minimum before they’re able to so-called ‘map’ the microbiome and fully understand the biochemical relationships to a healthy endocrine system.

Though I welcome good science, it’s a tragedy that they’ve failed to link dysbiosis of the gut to the persistent - and in some cases - rising incidence of ‘disease’, let alone how to correct dysbiosis for those unknowingly suffering its effects.

[snork55]

Whiskey helps!

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Wild! Our intestines use bacterial waste product as an energy source. (butyrate)

[MayflowerMadam]

Is one type of sauerkraut better than others? Is canned sauerkraut as effective that in the packages that appear to be more fresh?

[jacquej]

I am no expert, but I think the sauerkraut has to be naturally fermented the old fashioned way, not canned or made “fake sauer” by using vinegar.

Same goes for anything else “fermented”, has to be the old- fashioned way, in a crock, on the counter, with only salt and water.

The canning process would kill the organisms that do the work. So, no process manuyfactured stuff. Make your own yogurt!

[MayflowerMadam]

“Make your own yogurt!”

I could do that — for my husband. Just the smell of yogurt makes me gag. Could not possibly eat it.

Will look for the real deal sauerkraut, which I love.

[jacquej]

I totally understand. I dont like the taste of plain yogurt either. But, sugar is a no-no if we are following the “Proper Human Diet”. So I avoid it.

Dr. Ken Berry does the best job of explaining this on YouTube. I follow his general advice, adapting it to my individual needs, and we all are different, as he explains.

I do best on the “carnivore” version, and manage to control my inflammation the best without any grains, seed oils, veggies, most all fruits, etc. Others do not need to be so strict. I am really old, and the years of the SAD have really damaged my metabolism.

I have lost my cravings for sugars, grains, etc, and also lost about 140 lbs, accumulated over about 50 years... My auto-immune problems are under control, too, without t he need for medication.

[MayflowerMadam]

Sugar is bad. Carbs are bad.

I dropped 25 pounds quickly eating meat, eggs, cheese, nuts/peanut butter.