Gut Bacteria Turn 2 Vegetable Nutrients Into Heart-Protective Molecules
Updated
Updated · ScienceDaily · Aug 24
Gut Bacteria Turn 2 Vegetable Nutrients Into Heart-Protective Molecules
3 articles · Updated · ScienceDaily · Aug 24
Summary
Karolinska researchers found gut microbes convert dietary nitrate and plant-based iron into dinitrosyl iron complexes, or DNICs, a newly identified pathway linking vegetables to cardiometabolic protection.
DNICs appeared in multiple tissues but were completely absent in germ-free mice, indicating the molecules depend on gut bacteria to form before being absorbed and carried to organs including the liver and kidneys.
Higher DNIC levels—raised through nitrate-and-iron supplements or synthetic DNIC—were tied in animal disease models to lower blood pressure, better vascular function, improved blood sugar control and less liver fat.
The Cell study used mice, cells, bacteria and human samples, but the team said more work is needed to measure DNIC reliably in people and test whether diet or microbiome changes can alter disease risk.