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"Good" bacteria in the intestines can become harmful

 
, medical expert
Last reviewed: 27.11.2021
 
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09 August 2019, 09:00

The mass of earlier scientific research has allowed to prove: bacteria in the intestine "rule" the health of the whole organism. For example, they serve both as prevention and as a trigger (depending on conditions and microflora balance) for the development of cancer, diabetes mellitus , and neurosis. To improve the qualitative and quantitative bacterial composition, in any grocery store and even in a pharmacy there are a variety of yogurts, curds and even ice cream, which include probiotic additives. However, researchers from Washington (University of St. Louis) found that initially useful probiotics are able to modify and even acquire harmful properties.

It would seem, nothing strange: bacteria adapt to different living conditions and change their activity or direction of action. As one of the authors of the study, Gautam Dantas, explains, people who want to use microorganisms as a therapeutic agent should understand that their action can vary depending on conditions. “There are no bacteria that are insensitive to evolutionary change. However, this does not mean that people should stop taking prebiotics. ”

To clarify the factors influencing the fact that “good” bacteria become dangerous, the specialists had to introduce the probiotic E. Coli Nissle into the intestines of rodents with different initial microflora quality and different nutritional principles. After a month and a half of the experiment, the researchers tested the DNA of the introduced bacteria and noted that in healthy rodents there was no functional change in microbes, but in obviously sick animals such changes were present. For example, experts saw that the bacteria became resistant to antibiotics, and some microorganisms had the ability to absorb mucus inside the intestine, preventing its natural defense.

“Healthy intestinal flora has not shown any significant changes - perhaps because such conditions are considered adequate for probiotic bacteria. But it should be understood: in the vast majority of cases, drugs with probiotics are not prescribed to healthy people, but only to patients, those who have an imbalance in the intestinal flora. And it’s just in such disturbed conditions that probiotics become harmful, ”says Aura Ferreiro, research leader.

According to Gautam Dantas, according to the results of the project, no one will cancel probiotics for the treatment of dysbiosis. On the contrary, the discovery will give new goals to scientists: for example, doctors will be able to prescribe certain drugs depending on the state of the human intestinal microflora.

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