Cambridge Researchers Find Gut Bacteria Could Help Remove 'Forever Chemicals' From Body
'This uncovers a new beneficial role of gut bacteria for the human health—to help removing toxic PFAS from our body,' senior study author Kiran Patil, a member of the MRC Toxicology Unit, University of Cambridge, told The Epoch Times.
The Cambridge University study, published in the journal Nature Microbiology, identified nine bacterial species that can absorb up to 75 percent of toxic PFAS—per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—from their surroundings.
PFAS are synthetic chemicals used in thousands of consumer products, from nonstick pans and waterproof clothing to cosmetics and food packaging. Dubbed 'forever chemicals' because they resist breaking down in the environment, PFAS accumulate in human bodies and have been linked to various cancers, liver damage, and immune system disorders.
Currently, there are no approved treatments to remove PFAS from the human body, making this discovery potentially significant for public health.
The research team identified nine bacterial species—including six in the Bacteroides family, Odoribacter splanchnicus, Parabacteroides distasonis, and Parabacteroides merdae—that can absorb two common types of PFAS: perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
When these bacteria were introduced into mice, they quickly absorbed the chemicals. When they were excreted through the gut, the forever chemicals were removed with them in waste. Within minutes of exposure, the bacteria absorbed between 25 and 74 percent of PFAS chemicals at various concentration levels.
The researchers believe the way bacteria collect PFAS into protective clumps inside their cells is a survival mechanism that prevents the chemicals from causing cellular damage.
As the mice were exposed to increasing PFAS levels, the bacteria kept removing a steady percentage of the toxins, suggesting they could act as a natural filter in the gut.
The effectiveness of this approach depends on the specific type of PFAS compound, Patil said.
Short-chain PFAS leave the body quickly through urine. However, long-chain PFAS stay in the body for years and are mostly removed through feces. Therefore, using bacteria works best for PFAS compounds that are primarily eliminated through fecal excretion, according to Patil.
The bacteria proved effective even at very low exposure levels similar to those found in European and U.S. water samples, suggesting potential real-world applications.
The researchers plan to develop probiotic supplements that could boost these helpful bacteria, offering a new way to reduce PFAS levels in humans. However, while promising, the results have not yet been tested directly in humans.
There are always unknown factors between lab studies on mice and real-world applications for humans, Bryan Quoc Le, a food scientist and founder of and principal food consultant at Mendocino Food Consulting, who was not involved in the study, told The Epoch Times.
'Despite this,' he said, 'the study did take a more comprehensive approach, such as using diverse microbial populations that are realistic for humans, and testing with different types of PFAS.'
However, he also noted the main challenges with a study like this include not knowing how things change in the long term, how these selected bacteria survive in different microbiomes with different diets and health conditions, and whether the same level of PFAS uptake would occur consistently and reliably.
'Needless to say, this area of research is still developing, so nothing is conclusive for human applicability yet, but it does suggest that further research would be worthwhile,' Le continued.
Medical experts urge caution despite the findings. Dr. Joseph Mercola, board-certified family medicine osteopathic physician, not involved in the study, emphasized the importance of careful implementation when introducing new bacterial strains into the human gut.
While the bacteria used in the study came from species already found in healthy humans, even familiar microbes can act differently depending on our overall gut balance, immune system, and existing health conditions, he told The Epoch Times.
'The good news is that these species aren't exotic imports; they're already natural residents in many people,' he said. 'Still, scaling up their population through supplements or engineered probiotics could throw off your microbial balance if done recklessly.'
Dr. Kham Ali, an emergency medicine physician at Northwell Health in New York and not involved in the study, warned that adding bacteria to our microbiome that store toxic PFAS could have 'unintended consequences,' such as disrupting other beneficial bacteria or affecting how the body processes food and medicine.
'We'd need long-term human studies to understand the safety of such interventions,' he told The Epoch Times.
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