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A new study suggests probiotics can improve gut and liver health, probiotics have been studied in the gastrointestinal tract Bejan Saeedi, a doctoral candidate at Emory University who conducted the research. The study shows the effects of probiotics on liver. The vast populations of microbes that reside on and inside of human bodies have been shown to play a role in numerous functions that keep bodies healthy.
Probiotics are bacteria that are consumed or administered in an effort to boost the populations of beneficial microbes, the research was focused on probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG -LGG, a species common in many over-the-counter probiotic formulations. They gave mice food laced with LGG for two weeks and then examined how they responded to a high dose of acetaminophen.
Taking too much acetaminophen can cause serious liver damage and death by increasing the abundance of a form of oxygen called free radicals, a process known as oxidative stress. However, the researchers found that mice receiving the probiotic treatment suffered less liver damage when presented with an overdose of acetaminophen compared with mice that did not receive probiotics.
Administration of the probiotic LGG to mice improves the antioxidant response of the liver, protecting it from oxidative damage produced by drugs such as acetaminophen, the liver is a hub for removing toxins from the blood and plays an important role in the body’s processes for converting food into energy. Since it is “downstream” of the gastrointestinal tract in the digestive process, it makes sense that the composition of bacteria in the gut could affect the functioning of the liver.
Researchers has traced the molecular process by which LGG appears to protect against oxidative liver injury to the role of a protein- Nrf2, which regulates the expression of genes involved in fighting free radicals. Other studies in mice have previously shown that LGG can protect against alcoholic liver disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
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