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The advertisements for dairy products enriched with probiotic bacteria emphasize the contribution of the bacteria to strengthening the body's natural defenses. Are these advertisements misleading the public or is there some truth in them?
Probiotic bacteria are part of the millions of bacteria that live in the human intestines. In the cells of the intestinal lining, there are receptors corresponding to different components of the bacterial body, and the contact between the components of the bacteria and these receptors causes biological activity within the intestinal cells. Such contact can help as well as harm. In a healthy person, the intestinal bacteria help in the processes of breaking down food, in the reabsorption of bile juices secreted in the small intestine and in the creation of vitamins B and K. The intestinal bacteria are able to break down potentially malignant substances, they influence the immune system and protect against the invasion of pathogenic bacteria (causing diseases). On the other hand, pathogenic bacterial components also have appropriate receptors in the cells of the intestinal mucosa, through which the bacteria infuse the cells with their pathogenic activity.
Recent scientific findings indicate the benefit that probiotic bacteria provide in disease states. In articles published in recent years in scientific journals, it was found that the bacteria are able to prevent the development of inflammation in the pocket that is installed after colon resection, that they moderate infections that develop in the intestines following prolonged antibiotic treatments, and more.
However, the mechanism of the effect of the probiotic bacteria on the intestine was not clear until now. A research team from Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem, led by Prof. Daniel Rachamilwitz and Prof. Eyal Raz from the University of California in San Diego, found the answer. In a study published yesterday in the journal "Gastroenterology", the team reports that a small sequence on the surface of the DNA of the probiotic bacteria, called CpG, is responsible for the positive action of the bacteria.
This is a very small sequence, which is revealed when the bacteria dies and binds to the receptor in the cells of the intestinal lining. The attachment activates a chain of processes in these cells that ultimately causes the activation of the immune system and the creation of substances that moderate inflammatory conditions in certain intestinal diseases.
The involvement of the CpG in the immune response has been known for about ten years. Two years ago, team members from Shaare Zedek and the University of California found that when the sequence was given to laboratory animals that had caused them to suffer from intestinal inflammation, it significantly reduced the symptoms of the disease. The researchers found that the binding of the sequence to the intestinal cells causes a significant decrease in the creation of substances that increase inflammation, the activation of anti-inflammatory substances and a decrease in the processes that lead to "suicide" cells. The next question, says Rahmilevich, was whether the probiotic bacteria are indeed beneficial because of the special sequence in their DNA.
In the new study, the researchers examined the mechanism of action of probiotic bacteria found to be effective in the treatment of intestinal diseases in humans. They used a commercial preparation that was used to treat patients - a bag that contains 450 billion probiotic bacteria (an amount equal to 45 cups of yogurt enriched with probiotic bacteria); The patients received 3-2 bags a day to treat intestinal inflammation.
The researchers fed experimental animals with the preparation and showed that they responded excellently and the severity of the intestinal inflammations was significantly reduced. The DNA of the bacteria was absorbed through the intestinal wall and it was possible to locate it in the liver and spleen - two organs where extensive activity of the immune system takes place.
In the next step, the researchers extracted the DNA from the bacteria and fed it to mice suffering from intestinal infections. "The genetic material alone showed the same beneficial effect on the disease as the intact bacteria did," says Rachamilevich. "At the same time, we learned that the probiotic bacteria in the preparation had no effect on mice whose intestinal lining cells did not have the receptor to which the CpG sequence binds. They did not improve the symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease, which proves that this unique sequence is responsible for the beneficial effect on the intestine.
"Since it is N-A, we thought, 'Why should we actually use live bacteria in the probiotic preparations?' We conducted an experiment in which we killed the bacteria and fed the mice a preparation of killed bacteria. Indeed, even in this case we obtained the same activity on the experimental animals."
Can eating yogurt containing probiotic bacteria every day also benefit people who do not suffer from inflammation? "I don't see any reason for a healthy person to add probiotic bacteria of any kind to his menu. It is important to remember that the amount that affects the suppression of inflammation in disease states is several tens of times greater than the amount that is used in various dairy products or in capsules sold in health food stores", says Rahmilevitz. "The probiotic bacteria are certainly not harmful, but there is no proof that they help a healthy person."
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One response
As a long-time patient with Crohn's disease (chronic intestinal inflammation), I want to say from experience that eating bio yogurt, and bio preparations, improved my inflammation dramatically, and also improved the related problems of constipation and more.
I recommend to anyone who has Crohn's disease, try eating half a cup of organic yogurt three times a day. And also to add a biological preparation, (5 billion bacteria is recommended) in my experience, within just a few days, you feel an improvement in all the symptoms.