Quanyin Hu |
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Pharmacy think they have a solution involving a dual-layer protection system that can keep probiotic bacteria alive in the lower intestine long enough to help treat or prevent colitis in a mouse model of the disease.
Quanyin Hu and postdoctoral researcher Jun Liu have filed for a patent on their double-protection technique and, with their collaborators, published their findings in the journal Nano Today.
If the new technique shows similar effectiveness in clinical trials, it could help advance the use of probiotics.
The research addresses one of the biggest limitations of treating disease with probiotics, which are bacteria that promote healthy tissue development and improve the gut microbiome.
“When you transfer these bacteria through the oral route, most of them are getting killed by the acidic environment of the stomach. Or they’re getting cleared out of the intestine because they aren’t adhering,” says Hu, the senior author of the report. “Our double protection technique addresses these limitations.”