Pharmacokinetics and microflora

The gut microbiota will tell you if the medicine will help

Svetlana Maslova, Hi-tech+

It is believed that the metabolism of drugs in the human body is the task of individual organs. Scientists from Yale University have proved the important role of intestinal microorganisms in the biotransformation of certain drugs.

American scientists have identified intestinal bacteria and their genes, which are responsible for the metabolism of more than 150 drugs. The discovery highlights the important role of the gut microbiota in the assimilation of drugs by the body.

To come to this conclusion, the team tested 271 drugs and 76 types of gut bacteria. Nearly two-thirds of the drugs were metabolized by at least one of the bacterial samples, the authors said.

A picture from an article in YaleNews Gut check: Yale researchers describe the role of bacteria in drug response – VM.

The scientists then selected drug-metabolizing bacteria and identified the genes that were responsible for the chemical transformation of drug compounds. It turned out that the number of genes varies widely in the communities of microorganisms of healthy people. To some extent, this explains the differences in the effects of certain drugs in humans.

"It is quite possible that in the future we will start using genes or bacterial species to predict the ability of the intestinal microflora to metabolize a specific drug," said Maria Zimmermann–Kogadeeva, co–author of an article published in the journal Nature (Zimmermann et al., Mapping human microbiome drug metabolism by gut bacteria and their genes).

Currently, the work of scientists is the first step in identifying intestinal biomarkers that can help doctors determine the most effective drugs for a particular patient.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru