Theorizing that Too Much Propionate Contributes to Alzheimer ' s Disease

Proprionate is generated by gut microbes, and is generally thought to be beneficial, acting to improve measures of health. Thus it has been lumped in with butyrate and a few other metabolites as beneficial outputs of the gut microbe that decline with age as the microbial populations shift. Researchers here instead discuss the possibility that excessive manufacture of proprionate by the aged gut microbiome can contribute to neurodegeneration. All compounds have a dose response curve, and too much can be just as bad as too little. This commentary on proprionate is an interesting viewpoint: one of the challenges in Alzheimer's research is to explain why only some people exhibit the condition. Perhaps the specific composition and metabolite production of the aged gut microbiome, highly varied between individuals, is an important factor. The enzymes needed to digest most dietary fibers are lacking in the human body. Therefore, the microbiota in the intestine is tasked with fermenting dietary fibers. Fermentation results in the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which serve several important functions. In the gut, they aid in microbial growth. They are also second messengers that can modulate gene expression and initiate the synthesis of gut peptides and hormones. One of the major SCFAs is propionate. In addition to fermentation, two other sources of propionate are food and the oral microbiome. In 1984, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labeled prop...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs