London : Scientists have found that human gut bacteria regulate the levels of the body’s main antioxidant, glutathione, which fights a host of diseases, reports PTI.
The study could lead to new probiotic-delivering foods, and a better understanding of the metabolic processes behind diseases such as type 2 diabetes, said Adil Mardinoglu, a systems biology researcher at Stockholm’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology.
The research helps complete our understanding of how nonessential amino acids are synthesised to equip the body’s cells with detoxifying agents and antioxidants, Mardinoglu said. “Gut microbiota regulate your glutathione and amino acid metabolism – not only in the small intestine but also in the liver and the colon,” he said.
The small intestine is host to more than 1,000 known different species of bacteria. Some of these microbiota were found to be consuming glycine, which is one of the three amino acids required for the synthesis of the body’s main antioxidant, glutathione.
