The Sourdough School

BALM – Proven as one of the healthiest approaches to bread in the world.

Based in the walled gardens of Dr. Vanessa Kimbell's beautiful Victorian home in rural Northamptonshire, UK, we tutor individuals and train bakers and healthcare professionals in Baking as Lifestyle Medicine (BALM). Personalising bread to your lifestyle, gut microbiome, and unique genetics for optimal health—tailoring fermentation, fibre, and diversity so that your daily bread becomes the foundation of your health.

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503 - ‘A Novel Postbiotic From Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG With a Beneficial Effect on Intestinal Barrier Function’. Frontiers in Microbiology. 10:477

Reference Number: 503

Year: 2019

Authors: Jie Gao, Yubin Li, Yu Wan, Tongtong Hu, Liting Liu, Shaojie Yang, Zelong Gong, Qing Zeng, Yi Wei, Weijun Yang, Zhijie Zeng, Xiaolong He, Sheng-He Huang and Hong Cao

Link: Link to original paper

Health: Gut Microbiome - Creating Healthier Bread to Support Optimal Gut Health | IBS | Immune response | Inflammation | Inflammatory bowel disease | Lower Inflammation

Nutrition: Postbiotic | Probiotic

Summary

It has long been known that probiotics can be used to maintain intestinal homeostasis and treat a number of gastrointestinal disorders, but the underlying mechanism has remained obscure. Recently, increasing evidence supports the notion that certain probiotic-derived components, such as bacteriocins, lipoteichoic acids, surface layer protein and secreted protein, have a similar protective role on intestinal barrier function as that of live probiotics. These bioactive components have been named ‘postbiotics’ in the most recent publications. We previously found that the Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) culture supernatant is able to accelerate the maturation of neonatal intestinal defense and prevent neonatal rats from oral Escherichia coli K1 infection. However, the identity of the bioactive constituents has not yet been determined. In this study, using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis, we identified a novel secreted protein (named HM0539 here) involved in the beneficial effect of LGG culture supernatant. HM0539 was recombinated, purified, and applied for exploring its potential bioactivity in vitro and in vivo. Our results showed that HM0539 exhibits a potent protective effect on the intestinal barrier, as reflected by enhancing intestinal mucin expression and preventing against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)- or tumor necrosis factor ? (TNF-?)-induced intestinal barrier injury, including downregulation of intestinal mucin (MUC2), zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and disruption of the intestinal integrity. Using a neonatal rat model of E. coli K1 infection via the oral route, we verified that HM0539 is sufficient to promote development of neonatal intestinal defence and prevent against E. coli K1 pathogenesis. Moreover, we further extended the role of HM0539 and found it has potential to prevent dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis as well as LPS/d-galactosamine-induced bacterial translocation and liver injury. In conclusion, we identified a novel LGG postbiotic HM0539 which exerts a protective effect on intestinal barrier function. Our findings indicated that HM0539 has potential to become a useful agent for prevention and treatment of intestinal barrier dysfunction- related diseases.

 

Significance of this study to the baker:

This study details how these novel ‘postbiotics’ from the strain specific probiotic LGG (found in probiotic yoghurt and probiotic supplements) may help improve gut barrier integrity. Given the gut barrier is one of our main defence mechanisms between our environment and our internal immune systems, this is rather exciting. Postbiotics are the waste products or by-products of fermentation that occurs within our gut between dietary prebiotics (such as fibre) and the beneficial probiotic bacteria that reside within our gut. Here at the sourdough school, we believe in our 7 core principles, where if we increase consumption of dietary fibre, ensure dietary diversity and even add such strain specific probiotics to our bakes (such as LGG) then studies like this suggest we can truly nourish our gut and improve our health.

Take a look at our courses at The Sourdough School

All reasonable care is taken when advising about health aspects of bread, but the information that we share is not intended to take the place of treatment by a qualified medical practitioner. You must seek professional advice if you are in any doubt about any medical condition. Any application of the ideas and information contained on this website is at the reader's sole discretion and risk.

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