Many people with dietary allergies only experience mild symptoms when exposed to triggering foods. However, some face potentially fatal consequences. A bacterial compound called butyrate that’s made by healthy microbiomes has shown promise against allergic reactions in lab tests. The problem is that
it’s nasty to take orally. Today, scientists describe a more palatable way to deliver this compound. They also report that their “polymeric micelles” are effective against peanut allergies in mice. Someday the treatment could counteract many types of food allergies and inflammatory diseases.
One way to treat those with allergies would be to provide the missing bugs to them orally or with a fecal transplant. However, that hasn’t worked well in the clinic, according to Jeffrey Hubbell, Ph.D., one of the project’s principal investigators . “So we thought, why don’t we just deliver the metabolites — like butyrate — that a healthy microbiome produces?”
The researchers administered these micelles to the digestive systems of mice that were lacking either healthy gut bacteria or a properly functioning gut lining. After digestive juices released the butyrate in the lower intestine, the inert polymers were eliminated in the feces. The treatment restored the gut’s protective barrier and microbiome, in part by increasing the production of peptides that kill off harmful bacteria, which made room for helpful butyrate-producing bacteria.