Emeritus professor Willem de Vos wondered: ‘What would happen if we took this bacterium from healthy people and gave it to sick people — via a supplement?’ Photo Shutterstock The intestinal bacterium Anaerobutyricum soehngenii is found in smaller quantities in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) than in healthy people. If diabetics ingest the bacterium via a supplement, it helps them keep their blood sugar levels stable, emeritus professor Willem de Vos discovered.
Our intestines and the bacteria they contain play a major role in our health, explains emeritus professor Willem de Vos. He ‘looks at microbiology through a health lens’. That is the case for people with type 2 diabetes. They have trouble keeping their blood sugar levels in equilibrium, and De Vos and his team discovered this is influenced by the gut bacterium Anaerobutyricum soehngenii. Diabetics have smaller amounts of this bacterium. That made De Vos wonder: ‘What would happen if we took this bacterium from healthy people and gave it to sick people?’
Lactic acid
‘The composition and amount of bacteria vary between people and depending on diseases, but what the bacteria do is the same,’ explains De Vos. ‘Bacteria use the contents of our guts as fuel and turn that into new substances. Some of those substances have a function in our bodies. One such substance is butyrate, which is produced by intestinal bacteria and sends signals to other parts of the body. That is one way in which our intestines affect what happens in the rest of the body.’
The interesting thing about butyrate is that in a healthy body it is made from sugar molecules by certain bacteria, continues De Vos. ‘But there is also a gut bacterium, Anaerobutyricum soehngenii, that can make butyrate from lactic acid. It is found in the intestines of healthy people. That is surprising, because healthy bodies hardly have any lactic acid in the intestines. But you do see that in the intestines of people with type 2 diabetes, and they also have lesser amounts of that bacterium.’
Healthier
‘In previous research, we looked at what happens to the metabolism of patients who suffer from metabolic syndrome, a precursor to type 2 diabetes, if we give them the bacterium Anaerobutyricum soehngenii that turns lactic acid into butyrate.’ The patients’ blood sugar levels became more stable and their blood pressure fell. ‘Recently, we repeated the experiment with type 2 diabetes patients who were using medication to stabilize their blood sugar levels. We found that the supplement had an additional effect,’ says De Vos.
These scientific advances need to be put in perspective, however. Type 2 diabetes is a condition that is often the result of an unhealthy lifestyle. It is known that a healthy lifestyle can reduce the impact of the disease. De Vos acknowledges this: ‘A healthy diet can achieve the same effect in the long run — getting the healthy bacteria established in the intestines. But you can’t achieve that quickly; it takes time. A supplement like this can give the right boost, and it works very fast.’
