Akkermansia bacteria could play strong part in supporting health.
It’s a bit of mouthful. But Akkermansia mucinphila could be a household word in a few short years.
It’s the species of bacteria found in the human gut, discovered only in 2004, and which has been the subject of about 2000 scientific studies, many of which connect it to playing a role in supporting our health.
Akkermansia is regarded as a keystone strain for supporting gut health and plays a special role in supporting a healthy immune response, healthy gut barrier integrity, healthy weight management and blood glucose balance, according to Kevin Glucina, founder and director of Matakana Health.
Through a combination of complex mechanisms, Akkermansia is thought to play an important role in supporting healthy immune and metabolic responses throughout the body, he says.
Akkermansia has also been shown to naturally support GLP-1 production – a chemical in our body which signals feelings of fullness when we have had an adequate amount to eat.
So what is Akkermansia? It’s a species of bacteria that helps to support the normal thickness and healthy integrity of our gut lining, named after a Dutch microbial ecologist, Antoon Akkermans. It lives in the large intestine and supports a healthy gut barrier, which in turn helps to support the immune system.
The large intestine is home to thousands of species of bacteria, all with different roles to help body function and help protect against disease. The intestinal mucus layer is an important boundary which, if disturbed by microbial growth imbalances, can lead to inflammation and increases the risk of toxins in our gut leaking into our blood stream and causing infection, Glucina says.
Akkermansia bacteria support normal gut barrier function. Studies have shown healthy individuals and elite athletes are more likely to have a high abundance of Akkermansia, while in some conditions Akkermansia is less abundant. It is thought that certain stressors of the modern lifestyle such as circadian rhythm disruption, chemicals in our food and alcohol may affect the microbiome and play a part in influencing the species which are present.
“The problem was that, after more than 15 years of trying, no one could figure out how to grow Akkermansia in commercial quantities,” Glucina says. “In fact, the only way physicians could increase human levels of this important little bug was with a faecal transfer.”
The problem was oxygen. The bacteria exist in a part of the gut with absolutely no oxygen – so trying to produce it in a laboratory was difficult. Finally, a US-based company, Pendulum, with funding from the Mayo clinic developed a special oxygen-free lab to study and grow Akkermansia en masse and place it in a capsule for easy ingestion.
“It’s the first new probiotic genus to come on the market in 50 years,” says Glucina. “I think we will be hearing a lot more about it.”
For more information or to purchase Pendulum’s Akkermansia visit pendulumlife.co.nz.
Read the label, take as directed. Supplementary to, and not a replacement for, a balanced diet. If symptoms persist, see your healthcare professional. Matakana Health Ltd.