Preservatives used in food have adverse effects on the intestinal microbiome.
[ad_1]
A research has revealed that common preservatives used in food have unexpected effects on the intestinal microbiome (microbes associated with the human digestive system). Investigation of a common preservative used to kill pathogens in food has revealed that it also has an impact on beneficial bacteria, threatening the balance of the gut microbiome, according to a study published in the journal ACS Chemical Biology. . Food manufacturers often add preservatives to food products to keep them fresh. The primary purpose of these preservatives is to kill the germs that cause food to spoil and rot.
The research says, ‘Bacteria make chemicals called bacteriocins to kill microbial competitors. These chemicals can serve as natural preservatives by killing potentially dangerous pathogens in food. Lanthipeptides are a class of bacteriocins with particularly potent antimicrobial properties that are widely used by the food industry and are known as lantibiotics.’ Scientists at the University of Chicago found that one of the most common classes of lantibiotics has powerful effects against both pathogens and the commensal gut bacteria that keep us healthy.
Nisin is a popular lantibiotic found in a variety of foods from beer to sausages, and dipping sauces. It is produced by bacteria living in the mammary glands of cows, but microorganisms in the human gut also produce similar lantibiotics, the researchers said. Zhenrun Jerry Zhang, PhD, postdoctoral scholar, said that hynicin is a type of antibiotic that has long been used to keep our food healthy. But how it might affect our gut microbes is not yet well studied.
‘While this may help keep our food healthy longer, it may also have a greater impact on our human gut microbes,’ he said. Zhang with his team examined a public database of human gut bacterial genomes and identified genes for the production of six different gut-derived lantibiotics that were highly similar to nisin, four of which were novel. .
The researchers found that although different lantibiotics had different effects, they all killed pathogens and commensal bacteria. ‘This study is one of the first to show that gut commensals are sensitive to lantibiotics, and sometimes more sensitive than pathogens,’ said Zhang. ‘Given the levels of lantibiotics currently present in food, it is very possible that they may also impact our gut health,’ he said.
The post Preservatives used in food have a bad effect on the intestinal microbiome appeared first on Dainik Savera Times | Hindi News Portal.
[ad_2]
Source link
