Tag Archives: candida

More Butyrate Series, Part 8: Clostridium butyricum to Prevent Pathogenic Infections (C. diff, E. coli, H. pylori, and Candida), Leaky Gut, and Tube Feeding Diarrhea

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When would a person consider adding Clostridium butyricum to their health plan? That’s what I’m exploring as I continue to write up what I discovered from scientific studies about Clostridium butyricum. Today will finish up exploring the gastrointestinal studies. You may read more that I have written about Clostridium butyricum here and here. I try to write in simple terms while still maintaining medical accuracy. If you see a typo or mis-information, please point it out! I really appreciate the opportunity to fix it. If you just don’t understand something and really want to, I enjoy questions and do my best to answer them as thoroughly as I can.

Please remember this is not medical advice. Probiotics are still supplements, and supplements can have deleterious effects on health, either directly, by interactions, or even because of their fillers (and commercial forms of Clostridium butyricum seem to have lactose and/or potato starch). As you search for health, don’t forget certain human health necessities: sleep; movement; sunshine; nature; strong, nurturing relationships; freedom from an unforgiving and hateful heart; and self-acceptance. I feel there are more, but I’ll stop there for now. I’m always floored at how we will search for health in a pill or diet while neglecting these basic requirements.

 

Clostridium butyricum to prevent pathogenic infections from other organisms: Escherichia coli 0157:H7, Helicobacter pylori, and Candida

When given prophylactically, Clostridium butyricum prevented death from enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli 0157:H7 in 100% of mice. [I’m always fascinated by studies with “100% results.”]

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli 0157:H7 is a dangerous human pathogen which can lead to significant bloody diarrhea, kidney failure, and death. Germ-free mice were inoculated with the virulent bacterial strain Escherichia coli 0157:H7. Mice who received no Clostridium butyricum probiotic ALL died from entrohemorrhagic E. coli complications. When given the probiotic prophylactically before receiving the virulent E. coli strain, 100% of the mice survived. If the Clostridium butyricum was given two days into the infection rather than prophylactically, then 50% died.The probiotic used was Clostridium butyricum MIYAIRI 588 strain.

Source: Takahashi, M., Taguchi, H., Yamaguchi, H., Osaki, T., Komatsu, A. and Kamiya, S. (2004), The effect of probiotic treatment with Clostridium butyricum on enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection in mice. FEMS Immunology & Medical Microbiology, 41: 219–226.

In vitro co-culture and cell-to-cell contact of Clostridium butyricum  MIYAIRI 588 and Clostridium difficile greatly decreased and even negated the cellular toxicity of Clostridium difficile toxin.

Both Clostridium difficile andClostridium butyricum are Gram-positive, spore-forming bacteria, but Clostridium butyricum grows faster and uses a wider range of substrates, while also producing butyric acid (butyrate) and a bacteriocin (a microbial “antibiotic”). Researchers found that Clostridium butyricum diminished the cytotoxicity of Clostridium difficile and explored why:

  • Clostridium butyricum cells themselves needed to be present to prevent the cytotoxicity from Clostridium difficile. Using supernatant (fluid with no actual bacterial cells but still with the substances excreted/secreted from the bacteria) from Clostridium butyricum culture did not reduce cytotoxicity or reduce the growth of Clostridium difficile, neither did simply separating the two bacterial cultures by a permeable membrane (but impermeable by the bacteria themselves–so basically having the cells together in proximity with the same environment, but without the cells themselves being able to touch each other).
  • Clostridium butyricum blocked Clostridium difficile‘s germination, perhaps by increasing the amount of organic acids present, such as butyric acid. Clostridium butyricum cultures produce a pH of about 4.8, while Clostridium difficile cultures exhibit a pH of about 6.2, which is similar to the gut’s pH. Co-cultures of the two bacteria together produced a lower pH, which may affect the growth of C. diff and deteriorate the function of one of its toxins, toxin B.

Source: Woo TD, Oka K, Takahashi M, Hojo F, Osaki T, Hanawa T, Kurata S, Yonezawa H, Kamiya S. Inhibition of the cytotoxic effect of Clostridium difficile in vitro by Clostridium butyricum MIYAIRI 588 strain. J Med Microbiol. 2011;60:1617–1625.

A very small human study reported that patients given antibiotic therapy to eradicate Helicobacter pylori had detectable fecal Clostridium difficile toxin A, BUT double doses of Clostridium butyricum Miyairi 588 strain prevented detection of any fecal Clostridium difficile toxin A, indicating that a higher dose of Clostridium butyricum may help prevent antibiotic associated C. diff colitis.

When antibiotics are given, it disrupts the normal suppression of Clostridium difficile (which can live in a healthy person’s gut) in the GI tract, allowing diarrhea or even C. difficile pseudomembranous colitis to occur. Researchers looked for toxin A from C. difficile bacteria when patients were treated with antibiotics alone to eradicate H. pylori or treated with antibiotics and Clostridium butyricum probiotic. A “regular” dose of Clostridium butyricum probiotic did not prevent Clostridium difficile toxin A detection, although it seemed to decrease when compared to the control using no probiotic.  However, doubling the dose of probiotic prevented C. difficile toxin A detection. Specifically MIYA-BM was used and it has 10^7 colony forming units (CFU) per tablet. A “regular” dose was six tablets and a double dose was 12 tablets.

Source: Microbiology and Immunology. Efficacy of Clostridium butyricum preparation concomitantly with Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy in relation to changes in the intestinal microbiota. Kyoto Imase, Motomichi Takahashi, Akifumi Tanaka, Kengo Tokunaga, Hajime Sugano, Mamoru Tanaka, Hitoshi Ishida, Shigeru Kamiya and Shin’ichi Takahashi. Volume 52, Issue 3, Version of Record online: 8 APR 2008

In vivo and in vitro testing indicated that Clostridium butyricum Miyairi 588 strain could inhibit, and often eradicate, Helicobacter pylori growth and presence in germ free mice.

This study suggests an antagonistic relationship between Clostridium butyricum and Helicobacter pylori.

  • In  vitro, the butyric acid produced by C. butyricum inhibited H. pylori growth in a direct manner, no matter what the pH, indicating that butyric acid itself was antibacterial. (In contrast, lactic acid also inhibited H. pylori, but not when the pH was adjusted, indicating the effect was pH induced rather than directly from the lactic acid itself.)
  • Pre-incubation of cells with the probiotic inhibited the binding ability of H. pylori to a gastric-mucosal type line of cells.
  • In mice with persistent H. pylori infection, Clostridium butyricum resulted in a rapid reduction of H. pylori and then eventually after three weeks, elimination.

Source: J Med Microbiol. 2000 Jul;49(7):635-42. Studies of the effect of Clostridium butyricum on Helicobacter pylori in several test models including gnotobiotic mice. Takahashi M, Taguchi H, Yamaguchi H, Osaki T, Kamiya S.

Clostridium butyricum Miyairi 588, when given prophylactically to mice, decreased mortality from systemic Candida albicans. 

The mice were pre-treated for three days intraperitoneally with heat-killed C. butyricum and then inoculated intravenously with a virulent strain of Candida albicans. There was significant increase in survival at all doses of the administered C. butyricum, indicating anti-candidal activity.

Source: Hour-Young, Chen & Kaneda, Satoru & Mikami, Yuzuru & Arai, Tadashi & Igarashi, Kazuei & Saito, Masayoshi & Miyoshi, Takeyoshi & Fuse, Akira. (1987). Protection activity induced by the bacterial vaccine, heat-killed Clostridium butyricum against Candida albicans infections in mice.. Japanese Journal of Medical Mycology. 28. 262-269. 10.3314/jjmm1960.28.262.

Might help to reverse leaky gut (increased gastrointestinal permeability)

Clostridium butyricum use in a mouse model of obesity and insulin resistance showed parameters that might be relevant to improving leaky gut (increased gastrointestinal permeability).

Researchers in China wanted to explore the effect of Clostridium butyricum (strain: CBO313.1) on high fat diet obesity and insulin resistance in mice, speculating that short chain fatty acid production and colon barrier functions contribute to these inflammatory-type conditions. They found that the use of Clostridium butyricum:

  • Reduced colon permeability by upregulating the tight junction (TJ) proteins (claudin-1 and occludin)
  • Contributed to a decreased circulating endotoxin level (LPS)
  • Suppressed adipose inflammation
  • Suppressed high fat diet induced low grade colitis
  • Increased short chain fatty acid production in the colon
  • Restored impaired colon permeability

Source: Shang H, Sun J, Chen YQ (2016) Clostridium Butyricum CGMCC0313.1 Modulates Lipid Profile, Insulin Resistance and Colon Homeostasis in Obese Mice. PLoS ONE 11(4): e0154373. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0154373

To prevent tube feeding diarrhea

In elderly patients who developed diarrhea in response to required long-term tube feedings, giving Clostridium butyricum to the patients normalized their stool.

The study is written in Japanese, so I have no further details.

Source: Ito, Hayashi, Iguchi, Endo, Nakao, Nabeshima, Ogura. Effects of administration of Clostridium butyricum to patients receiving long-term tube feeding. Jpn. J. Geriat. 34. 298-304. 1997.

Closing

That’s all for today. Do take care. Do look for things you can change in your life without a pill. Move more. Get outside more. Without squashing your own self, get along better with others. Your thoughts are your “inner stew.” They’re what you eat every single moment. Explore them. They make a HUGE difference to health.

Terri F.

Metametrix, Yeasts, and Candida

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This post is a continuation of the exploration of my Metametrix 2100 GI Profile.

My Metametrix Test

My Metametrix test showed “+2 yeast/fungi; taxonomy unavailable.”  The fine print on the test paper states a couple of wpid-IMAG0963.jpgthings:

  • “A taxonomy unavailable finding may indicate ingested mold.  The higher the number, the greater the indication for treatment, particularly when accompanied by clinical symptoms.”
  • “Yeast overgrowth has been linked to many chronic conditions, in part because of antigenic responses in some patients to even low rates of yeast growth.  Potential symptoms include diarrhea, headache, bloating, atopic dermatitis and fatigue.  Positives are reported as +1, +2, +3, or +4…”

So no evidence on my test of the dreaded CANDIDA, and no absolute evidence of a need to treat for YEAST.  My “+2” test result could be related to anything I ate, such as a vinegar or my sauerkraut.  Or maybe not.

Yeast/Candida

In my training, we learned that yeast was associated with specific conditions:  athlete’s foot, jock itch, diaper rash, thrush, vaginal infections, esophagitis, and overwhelming sepsis.  It was not a vague, nebulous condition affecting every organ system in the body.  A case of thrush did not mean a patient had a body riddled with Candida.  But this year as I’ve been reading about health on the internet, I have observed a lot of people very worried about  “Candida and yeast.”

Most of modern medicine scoffs at the loose use of “yeast” and “Candida” to describe a syndrome affecting the whole body.  Some of what makes the syndrome seem so hokey is the use of such wonderfully descriptive language, full of extremes, oversimplifications, and fear tactics:

  • “Invasion.”
  • “Is it breeding in you?”
  • “Do you have headaches, depression, anxiety, fatigue,  muscle aches, sore throats, sinusitis, cough, acne, acid reflux, athlete’s foot, vaginitis, bloating,  poor memory, irritability, allergies, asthma, and…and…and…and…”
  • “Starve them out.”
  • “Cleanse them out.”
  • “They burrow into your intestinal tract and can spread to every part of your body.”
  • “We all are infected.”

I prefer concrete, provable conditions supported by research.  If you bloat, there’s a good chance you have SIBO or FODMAP intolerance.  If you have a headache, you may need to eliminate nitrates from your diet.  Nice, supportable, proven conditions.  But what about otherwise healthy appearing individuals who despite doing all the right things, still feel bad?  Modern medicine is not helping them.  They’ve broached the multi-factorial approach and tried to remedy things:

  • food excesses (such as sugars of all types, grains, starches, preservatives, colors)
  • unknown food intolerances (such as eggs, nuts, dairy, wheat, coconut, soy)
  • “hard living” (lack of sleep, lack of daily movement, stress)
  • disruption of the typical bowel flora

What then is there to help them explain why they “just don’t feel good”?

Well, apparently all kinds of things–but today’s post is to provide links for “yeast” or “Candida” or “candidiasis” for those interested in further reading.  I’m not going to try to prove or disprove “Candida syndrome.”

Some Reads

Here are some articles I read that I appreciated for one reason or another.  I’d suggest, before you scoff at Candida or  conversely, dive headlong into eradicating it, that you read some of these.  After I read them, the “more you learn, the less you know” bells kept ringing in my head.  You decide for yourself.

I left off the Dr. Oz site.

1.  A very good, interesting review from European Journal of Gastroenterology/Hepatology, 2005.  Even though it discusses IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) in the title, it is a good read for anyone interested in yeast/Candida syndrome.  I appreciate that it was written by an MD and was published in a reputable journal.  It offers good background information and sources.

2. There are reports that some people MAY have polysomatic symptoms (numerous symptoms that seem diverse) due to yeast/Candida.  Their immune systems have inadvertently geared up to fight off yeasts/Candida, despite them being typical human commensal microbes.  The yeast apparently doesn’t even need to be “overgrown.”  The above mentioned article glosses on this, also.

Consider reading:  Candida/Yeast Hypersensitivity Syndrome and its citations, which both support and refute:

3.  Fascinatingly, overgrowth of yeast can lead to alcohol production in the body and “autointoxication.”  That’s weird.

4.  A very nice, well-rounded, and honest post, admitting strengths and weaknesses–from Mark’s Daily Apple:  A Primal Primer:  Candida.

5.  Another very nice well-rounded blog post:  Candida- Fact or Fiction by Jeff Chamberlain, MD

6.   The next link is to The Townsend Letter, The Examiner of Alternative Medicine, 2012.  I don’t know much about The Townsend Letter, but the article is written by an MD (et al), and it presents a lot of material with a good citation list to explore:  Candida,  Fungal-Type Dysbiosis, and Chronic Disease: Exploring the  Nature of the Yeast  Connection  (Stephen  Olmstead, MD; Dennis Meiss, PhD; and Janet Ralston, BS)

Closing

Following a GAPS/SCD/Paleo lifestyle for one year, I’ve managed to whittle down a bunch of “stupid” symptoms that have bothered me for years.  Headaches, constipation, and bloating still linger off and on.  I was doing great, but I jinxed myself at the one year mark with a glowing blog post.  Since then, headaches have been flaring.  Will check in with my medical doctor, and if they keep up…can anyone say, “+2 yeast”?

Related posts:

My Metametrix Experience

Another post on my Metametrix Experience

My Own Metametrix Report, First Page, With Thoughts

Metametrix, Pathogenic Bacteria Section