Study: Gut Bacterium Produces Fatty Acid That Slowed Atherosclerosis in Mice
A study published in Nature found that the gut bacterium Bacteroides uniformis reduced arterial plaque in mice by producing the saturated fatty acid C15. The findings come from animal experiments, so the effect in humans has not been proven.
A study published in the scientific journal Nature has examined the link between the gut microbiome and atherosclerosis, a disease in which plaques build up on artery walls. Researchers found that the gut bacterium Bacteroides uniformis slowed plaque formation in mice. The result matters because it suggests that some saturated fatty acids may be associated with protecting the heart and blood vessels. The study is described by Pēteris Apinis in an article for the Latvian newspaper Latvijas Avīze.
What the researchers compared
Scientists analysed the gut microbiome of 223 healthy people and 189 patients with cardiovascular disease. Bacteroides uniformis was found far more often in healthy participants. That was only a correlation, so the team ran an experiment in mice genetically prone to such diseases. The mice were fed a high-fat, high-sugar diet for 12 weeks.
Results in mice
Mice given the bacterium developed markedly fewer arterial plaques than the others. The effect was comparable to that of atorvastatin, a widely prescribed statin used as a benchmark. Inflammation fell, as did triglyceride and low-density cholesterol levels in the blood.
The bacterium releases a saturated fatty acid, pentadecanoic acid (C15). In the liver it suppresses cholesterol production and prompts the formation of more receptors that pull low-density cholesterol out of the blood. This resembles how statins work, but C15 and statins are different molecules, so side effects may also differ.
Limits and diet
Causation has been shown only in mice; in humans, the data show only that the bacterium is more common in people with healthier hearts. C15 comes mainly from food, especially whole-fat dairy and oily fish. About 200–300 mg a day corresponds to 50–100 grams of good cheese or roughly 150 grams of oily fish.
The author stresses that people should not fixate on a single nutrient but look at the whole diet. Studies also indicate that saturated fat in fermented dairy products does not raise the risk of cardiovascular disease.
