Gut Fungus

The researchers found that the people with Crohn’s disease had significantly higher levels of two types of bacteria, called Escherichia coli and Serratia marcescens, and one fungus, called Candida tropicalis, compared with their healthy relatives and the other people in the study who did not have the disease, according to the study, published Sept. 20 in the journal mBio.

Candida tropicalis is a species of yeast in the genus Candida. It is easily recognized as a common medical yeast pathogen.

Serratia marcescens (/sɛˈreɪʃjə mɑː(r)ˈsɛs.sɛnz/)[2] is a species of rod-shapedGram negative bacterium in the family Enterobacteriaceae. A human pathogen, S. marcescens is involved in hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), particularly catheter-associated bacteremia, urinary tract infections and wound infections,[3][4] and is responsible for 1.4% of HAI cases in the United States.[5] It is commonly found in the respiratory and urinary tracts of hospitalized adults and in the gastrointestinal system of children. Due to its abundant presence in the environment, and its preference for damp conditions, S. marcescens is commonly found growing in bathrooms (especially on tile grout, shower corners, toilet water line, and basin), where it manifests as a pink, pink-orange, or orange discoloration and slimy film feeding off phosphorus-containing materials or fatty substances such as soap and shampoo residue.

Escherichia coli (/ˌɛʃᵻˈrɪkiə ˈkoʊlaɪ/;[1] also known as E. coli) is a gram-negative,facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium of the genus Escherichia that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms (endotherms).[2] Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some serotypes can cause serious food poisoning in their hosts, and are occasionally responsible for product recalls due to food contamination.[3][4] The harmless strains are part of the normal flora of the gut, and can benefit their hosts by producing vitamin K2,[5] and preventing colonization of the intestine with pathogenic bacteria.[6][7] E. coli is expelled into the environment within fecal matter. The bacterium grows massively in fresh fecal matter under aerobic conditions for 3 days, but its numbers decline slowly afterwards.[8]

E. coli and other facultative anaerobes constitute about 0.1% of gut flora,[9] and fecal–oral transmission is the major route through which pathogenic strains of the bacterium cause disease. Cells are able to survive outside the body for a limited amount of time, which makes them potential indicator organisms to test environmental samples for fecal contamination.[10][11] A growing body of research, though, has examined environmentally persistent E. coli which can survive for extended periods outside of a host

Although previous research in mice has suggested that this fungus may be involved in Crohn’s, this is the first time it has been linked to the condition in people, the researchers said.

Moreover, when the researchers examined these bacteria and fungus, they found that the three microorganisms worked together to form a so-called biofilm — a thin, sticky layer of microorganisms — that attaches itself to a portion of the gut. This biofilm could trigger the inflammation that causes the symptoms of Crohn’s disease, the researchers said.

http://www.livescience.com/56334-gut-fungus-suspected-in-crohns-disease.html

 

List, source, and uses of enzymes derived from fungi for food manufacture
Enzyme Source Use
α -Amylase, amyloglucosidase Aspergillus niger
A. oryzae
Rhizopus spp.		 Hydrolysis of starch in production of beer, bread; manufacture of high-fructose syrups
α-Galactosidase Mortierella vinacea Hydrolysis of raffinose to sucrose and galactose during sugar refining
Catalase Aspergillus niger
Penicillium vitale		 Remove excess hydrogen peroxide formed during cake baking or that may be added during pasteurization of milk and cheese
Cellulase Aspergillus niger
Trichoderma viride		 Improve palatability of low-quality vegetables, accelerate drying of vegetables, alter texture of foods, increase flavor of commercial mushrooms
Hemicellulase Aspergillus niger
Trichoderma viride		 Manufacture of instant coffee
Invertase Yeasts
Aspergillus spp.		 Increases sweetness in confections; yields soft center in chocolate-covered candies
Lactase Aspergillus niger
A. oryzae		 Hydrolysis of lactose in milk products, enabling their use by lactose-intolerant individuals; production of syrups for use as sweetening agents
Lipase Candida spp.
Aspergillus spp.
Mucor spp.
Rhizopus spp.		 Used for flavor development in cheese, chocolate crumb, apple wine, and cooking fats; improved whipping properties of egg whites; fish processing
Naringinase Aspergillus niger Reduce bitter flavonone glycoside derivative found in some citrus products
Nuclease Penicillium spp. Flavor enhancers
Pectic Enzymes Aspergillus niger
Penicillium notatum
Botrytis cinerea		 Remove turbidity from fresh fruit juices; removal of pectins before concentrating juice; clarifying agent in wine
Protease Aspergillus spp. Mucor pusillus Meat tenderizer; remove bitter flavors, replace rennin in cheese manufacture, chill-proofing of beer; reduce elasticity of glutin proteins in bread
Rennet Mucor spp. Milk coagulation in cheese manufacture
Tannase Aspergillus niger Treat insoluable material that forms during manufacture of instant tea
SOURCE: Adapted from: Beuchat (1987) and Moore-Landecker (1995)

Emulsifiers Might Promote Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

More than 1.5 million Americans suffer from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which is an autoimmune condition that involves inflammation in your digestive tract and includes both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

IBD sufferers have severely disrupted gut biota with different dominant species than healthy people, and those with Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis suffer from a breakdown in the mucosal lining of their gut. As reported in the journal Nature:1

“The intestinal tract is inhabited by a large and diverse community of microbes collectively referred to as the gut microbiota.

While the gut microbiota provides important benefits to its host, especially in metabolism and immune development, disturbance of the microbiota-host relationship is associated with numerous chronic inflammatory diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease and the group of obesity-associated diseases collectively referred to as metabolic syndrome.

A primary means by which the intestine is protected from its microbiota is via multi-layered mucus structures that cover the intestinal surface, thereby allowing the vast majority of gut bacteria to be kept at a safe distance from epithelial cells that line the intestine.

Thus, agents that disrupt mucus-bacterial interactions might have the potential to promote diseases associated with gut inflammation.”

Indeed, a new animal study revealed that emulsifiers, which are “detergent-like molecules,” impact mouse gut microbiota, induce low-grade inflammation and metabolic syndrome and promote “robust” colitis in mice predisposed to the disorder.

The researchers concluded:2 “… the broad use of emulsifying agents might be contributing to an increased societal incidence of obesity/metabolic syndrome and other chronic inflammatory diseases.”

Food Additives Might Be Impacting Your Health…

The emulsifiers used in the study were carboxymethylcellulose and polysorbate-80. Similar emulsifiers include lecithin, carrageenan, polyglycerols, and xanthan gum.

These additives keep oils and fats from separating, helping to improve the texture and shelf-life of salad dressing, non-dairy milk, and even foods like veggie burgers and hamburger patties.3

The emulsifiers caused chronic colitis in mice with already abnormal immune systems. In mice with healthy immune function, they resulted in mild intestinal inflammation and subsequent metabolic dysfunction that led to obesity, hyperglycemia, and insulin resistance.

Most notably, the emulsifiers were fed at levels that an average person would be exposed to if eating a lot of processed foods, suggesting these additives may indeed affect the health of many Americans.

Food additives such as these are all approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), again highlighting the severe limitation of our current regulatory system.

A 2013 study published in the journal Reproductive Toxicology found that nearly 80 percent of the food additives approved by the FDA lack testing information that would help the agency estimate the amount people can safely consume before suffering health consequences…4