How gut bugs turn plant stuff into healthy chemicals
Genetic basis for the cooperative bioactivation of plant lignans by Eggerthella lenta and other human gut bacteria
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
A single bacterial enzyme (Ber) performs two distinct chemical reactions in the lignan pathway.
Most metabolic pathways require separate enzymes for each step, but here one enzyme handles two reductions—making the process far more efficient than expected.
Practical Takeaways
Eat diverse plant foods (flax, sesame, whole grains) to feed lignan-metabolizing bacteria, potentially boosting your ability to produce enterolignans.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
A single bacterial enzyme (Ber) performs two distinct chemical reactions in the lignan pathway.
Most metabolic pathways require separate enzymes for each step, but here one enzyme handles two reductions—making the process far more efficient than expected.
Practical Takeaways
Eat diverse plant foods (flax, sesame, whole grains) to feed lignan-metabolizing bacteria, potentially boosting your ability to produce enterolignans.
Publication
Journal
Nature Microbiology
Year
2019
Authors
Elizabeth N. Bess, J. Bisanz, Fauna Yarza, Annamarie E. Bustion, Barry E. Rich, Xingnan Li, S. Kitamura, Emily Waligurski, Qi Yan Ang, Diana L. Alba, Peter Spanogiannopoulos, Stephen Nayfach, S. Koliwad, D. Wolan, A. Franke, P. Turnbaugh
Related Content
Claims (5)
The good stuff in sesame seeds might only work if your gut bacteria are the right kind — not everyone’s gut can activate it.
A single enzyme from a gut bacterium can turn a plant compound into another one that might be good for health — and it worked really well in a lab test using engineered bacteria.
Mice with a certain gut bug that has a specific gene make more of a helpful plant compound in their gut and pee than mice without that gene, after eating a seed-related substance.
Scientists found that when certain gut bacteria are more common, specific genes linked to breaking down plant compounds tend to show up more too — like a pattern that helps guess which helpful genes might be present just by knowing which bacteria are around.
Most people have the gut bacteria genes needed to turn plant nutrients called lignans into helpful compounds—scientists found these genes in nearly everyone they checked in a California study.