Clinical trial: novel nutritional formula treats gut microbial overgrowth

Summary

by Justin Jackson , Medical Xpress Credit: CC0 Public Domain Cedars-Sinai researchers have developed a novel nutritional formula, mBiota Elemental, a palatable elemental diet (PED) that reduces the abundance of key gut microbiome taxa and improves symptoms in patients with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and intestinal methanogen overgrowth (IMO). Intervention testing with mBiota Elemental showed normalized breath tests and relief of symptoms in the majority of participants, with no serious or severe adverse events. Elemental diets are highly digestible nutritional formulas containing free amino acids, simple carbohydrates, minimal fat, and essential micronutrients. Designed to provide complete nutrition with minimal stimulation of the digestive system, elemental diets have been used in conditions such as Crohn's disease, eosinophilic esophagitis/gastroenteritis, and chronic pancreatitis. Intestinal microbial overgrowth syndromes, including SIBO and IMO, involve abnormally high levels of coliform bacteria or methanogenic archaea in the gastrointestinal tract. Antibiotics remain the primary treatment, yet normalization occurs in only about half of SIBO cases and fewer in IMO. Recurrence is common, often requiring repeated antibiotic courses which can have deleterious effects on the overall microbiome. Previous retrospective findings suggested that elemental diets might reduce microbial overgrowth, yet no prospective clinical trials had tested this in patients with SIBO or IMO. Use of elemental diets in practice has been limited by poor palatability, which affects adherence in both pediatric and adult populations. In the study, "Effect, tolerability, and safety of exclusive palatable elemental diet in patients with intestinal microbial overgrowth," published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, researchers conducted a prospective, open-label clinical trial to assess the effect, tolerability, and safety of a novel PED in adult subjects with SIBO an...