Bifidobacteria

From MEpedia, a crowd-sourced encyclopedia of ME and CFS science and history

Bifidobacteria are gram-positive, anaerobic bacteria that are ubiquitous in a healthy gastrointestinal tract. They are protective against intestinal permeability.

Decreased populations of bifidiobacteria have been associated with vitamin K deficiency,[1] atopic diseases,[2] irritable bowel syndrome,[3] and autism.[4][5]

Chronic fatigue syndrome[edit | edit source]

Bifidobacteria have been shown to be reduced in CFS patients.[6]

One study found that 6-8 weeks of Bifidobacterium infantis supplementation reduced C-reactive protein, TNF-alpha and IL-6 levels in CFS patients.[7] Another found that B. infantis boosted serotonin levels in the brain.[citation needed]

FUT2[edit | edit source]

Fucosyltransferase 2 enzyme (FUT2) is an enzyme related to intestinal dysbiosis. People who are genetic non-secretors of FUT2 have reduced diversity, richness, and abundance of bifidobacteria.[8]

See also[edit | edit source]

Learn more[edit | edit source]


References[edit | edit source]

  1. Benno et al., 1985
  2. (Kalliomakiet al., 2001)
  3. (Kerckhoffs et al., 2009; Rajilić-Stojanović et al., 2011)
  4. (Wang et al., 2011a)
  5. https://cfsremission.wordpress.com/2016/03/11/a-review-of-how-little-we-know-about-gut-bacteria/
  6. Chronic fatigue syndrome: lactic acid bacteria may be of therapeutic value
  7. Groeger, David; O'Mahony, Liam; Murphy, Eileen F.; Bourke, John F.; Dinan, Timothy G.; Kiely, Barry; Shanahan, Fergus; Quigley, Eamonn M.M. (August 2013), "Bifidobacterium infantis 35624 modulates host inflammatory processes beyond the gut", Gut Microbes, 4 (4): 325–339, doi:10.4161/gmic.25487, ISSN 1949-0984, PMC 3744517, PMID 23842110 .
  8. Secretor Genotype (FUT2 gene) Is Strongly Associated with the Composition of Bifidobacteria in the Human Intestine