Taurine effective against bacterial infections

Taurine is an ally against bacterial infections. This nutrient that usually helps the body digest fats and oils could also help the gut remember past infections and kill invading bacteria. This is revealed by American researchers from five institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), national medical research institutions, in a study published on January 15 in the journal Cell.

Taurine triggers bacteria

More and more researchers are interested in the microbiota to find natural treatments to replace antibiotics that harm the microbiota and become less effective as bacteria develop resistance to drugs. In this study, the researchers realized that a class of bacteria, the Deltaproteobacteria, are involved in the fight against infections. Specifically, they remember past infections and manage to prevent new, similar infections.

Scientists then looked for ways to boost the production of these bacteria and realized that taurine is able to trigger the activity of Deltaproteobacteria. Taurine helps the body digest fats and oils and is found naturally in bile acids in the intestine. Scientists believe that low levels of taurine allow pathogens to colonize the gut, but high levels produce enough hydrogen sulfide, a byproduct of taurine, to prevent this colonization. Researchers have found that a single mild infection is enough to prepare the microbiota to resist further infection and that the liver and gallbladder, which synthesize and store bile acids containing taurine, can develop protection against infections. long-term.

Taurine can also prevent infection

The study also revealed that taurine given in addition to drinking water prepares the microbiota to prevent infection. However, in experiments conducted when mice drank water containing bismuth subsalicylate, a drug commonly used to treat diarrhea and stomach upset, protection against infection decreases because bismuth inhibits the production of Hydrogen sulfide.