Who would it potentially help ? : mainly those with trimethylaminuria, but possibly it will help reduce other FMO3 substrates too.
What is the concept ? : using a microbe that is known to be present in many human colons, that naturally alters trimethylamine in the gut to a methane compound that is inert and odorless, so reducing the absorption of trimethylamine into the bloodstream
What stage are they at ? : At the moment they have just proved the concept, and it is at it's very earliest stages
Full free paper : Archaebiotics: Proposed therapeutic use of archaea to prevent trimethylaminuria and cardiovascular disease
This is research that aims to alter the gut flora to a more friendly type for people with TMAU. It aims to 'negate' the trimethylamine formation in the gut, and so reduce the amount absorbed into to the bloodstream. They term it 'Archaebiotics' since archae is not part of the bacteria family, but it is the same concept as 'probiotics' and 'probtiotic therapy'.
I am not a great believer that 'trimethylamine' alone is the only compound to make people with a FMO3 susceptibility smell (FMO3 oxidizes 1,000s of sulfides and amines), but it may be a major factor and so reducing the TMA load is something to be welcomed. Also it may 'inactivate' other FMO3 substrates, so it may be more helpful than I expect.
I have thought of this type of therapy before and it has been previously speculated a long while ago (my own hope was FMO3 enriched probiotics) but now that a paper has been published showing a connection between trimethylamine-oxide levels and cardiovascular disease, there should hopefully be a lot of research going on worldwide now where they are trying to reduce or block trimethylamine formation in the gut.
2 comments:
Any updates on this?
Last I heard they had got a funding for a small research project. I wouldn't think of it as a major hope for us though. I think they are trying to see if archeabiotics can neutralize trimathylamine or something
Post a Comment