Introduction
Akkermansia Muciniphila is a mucin-degrading bacterium belonging to the phylum Verrucomicrobia (Derrien, Collado, Ben-Amor, Salminen, & de Vos, 2008). A. muciniphila was first isolated and identified when using purified mucin as the only carbon source in the growing medium in a belief that specific gut microbes have ability to utilize the mucus glycans as carbon sources (Derrien, Vaughan, Plugge, & de Vos, 2004). A. muciniphila is commonly found in human gut, representing 3–5% of the microbial community in humans (Belzer & de Vos, 2012; Derrien et al., 2004). The bacterium is also found in a wide variety of other species partly due to its mucin-degrading capability which provides an ecological advantage, especially in a condition of lacking other dietary sources except mucin (as the only constant source of nutrients) (Lukovac et al., 2014). Since its discovery in 2004 by Derrien et al. (2004), A. muciniphila has quickly become a popular research topic due to its newly discovered probiotic properties (Derrien et al., 2008; Dingemanse et al., 2015; van Passel et al., 2011). The bacterium is more abundant in the gut of healthy subjects than in that of diabetic and obese patients (Karlsson et al., 2012; Santacruz et al., 2010; Tilg & Moschen, 2014) and patients with bowel diseases (Png et al., 2010) and metabolic disorders (Brahe et al., 2015; Collado, Isolauri, Laitinen, & Salminen, 2010). Recent intervention studies also confirmed an inverse correlation of A. muciniphila abundance with body weight (Everard et al., 2013; Shin et al., 2014), inflammation (Hansen et al., 2014), metabolic syndrome (Roopchand et al., 2015), and both type 1 diabetes (Hansen et al., 2012a, 2012b) and type 2 diabetes (Hansen et al., 2012a, 2012b; Shin et al., 2014). Collectively, the increasing body of evidence from animal and human studies suggest that A. muciniphila is a highly promising probiotic, especially its potential for the prevention and treatment of diabetes, obesity, and their associated metabolic disorders, which is of great interest for future research and development. Akkermansia muciniphila (A. muciniphila) is a bacterium that may have a number of health benefits, including:
• Gut health
A. muciniphila can help strengthen the gut barrier, reduce inflammation, and protect against pathogenic agents.
• Metabolism
A. muciniphila can help improve metabolic parameters, modulate insulin resistance, and reduce body weight and blood sugar.
• Immune system
A. muciniphila can help boost adaptive immune responses.
• Cancer
A. muciniphila may have antitumor properties and may be a potential therapeutic target for cancer immunotherapy.
A. muciniphila is considered a promising probiotic candidate. It has been tested for safety in human intervention studies, and was presumed safe in overweight and obese individuals, as well as in patients with type 2 diabetes. However, more research is needed to understand the causal relationship between A. muciniphila and diseases, and to explore its safety and efficacy in humans.
Key Points
• The recent discovery of Akkermansia muciniphila is a scientific breakthrough. Unlike other Probiotics, Akkermansia eats the mucus of the gut lining, which means it doesn’t require outside food in order to thrive. • Akkermansia muciniphila is a “cross feeder” probiotic. It consumes mucins and turns them into short-chain fatty acids, which are used to fuel other strains of healthy bacteria. The presence of Akkermansia muciniphila is associated with low inflammation, insulin regulation, and reduced symptoms of chronic illness.
• Probiotic supplements for Akkermansia muciniphila are almost non-existent and not well studied. The best way to support this bacteria strain is to consume polyphenols and healthy fats.
This isn’t just any old bacteria strain. In many ways, Akkermansia represents a breakthrough in modern health. Here are a few reasons why you should care about the benefits of Akkermansia muciniphila:
• It acts as the gatekeeper to your gut. By protecting and strengthening your gut lining, Akkermansia helps to keep good bacteria in and bad bacteria out. A strong gut lining may make you less likely to develop gut dysbiosis and chronic illness over time.
• It prevents inflammation. Optimal levels of Akkermansia muciniphila usually mean less leaky gut. Therefore, less inflammation.
• It’s speculated to protect against illness. Scientists have studied Akkermansia muciniphila levels in healthy and sick people. The presence of this bacteria seems to be much more common in healthy people.
• It may manage glucose levels in the body. There still isn’t a lot of information on how Akkermansia muciniphila positively impacts type 2 diabetes — but the studies that have been done are promising. Especially for those who struggle with insulin resistance, supporting this bacteria could be a much-needed breakthrough.
Your Akkermansia muciniphila levels should hover between at least 0.5% and at most 5% of your total gut bacteria. In healthy people, scientists typically see bacteria levels at about 4%.
It’s difficult to test your own Akkermansia muciniphila levels, but certain symptoms might give you a peek into whether or not your Akkermansia is thriving. Things like inflammation, leaky gut, insulin resistance, and recurring infections could mean it's time to encourage your gut lining to regenerate.
Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of foods that directly contain Akkermansia muciniphila — and fiber isn’t as powerful of a solution as it is with other probiotics.
Still, there are some dietary steps you can take to naturally encourage the growth of Akkermansia and support your gut lining.
Dosage
Akkermansia muciniphila can be supplemented as a probiotic (live microorganism) or after pasteurization (postbiotic; dead microorganism). Supplementing with A. muciniphila is a novel concept, and currently there’s a lack of clinical research confirming its safety, efficacy, and optimal dosage or form.
A. muciniphila (either live or pasteurized) at a dosage of 10 billion colony-forming units (CFUs) daily for 3 months has been reported to be safe in humans.
Storage
Akkermansia muciniphila can be stored in a number of ways, including:
• Refrigeration
Refrigeration is the best way to store Akkermansia, but it's not required. Refrigeration and room temperature have the least impact on the survival of free A. muciniphila cells.
• Encapsulation
Encapsulation can help A. muciniphila survive aerobic storage and gastrointestinal passage. For example, A. muciniphila encapsulated in a calcium-alginate matrix remained viable for 28 days of refrigerated aerobic storage. Encapsulation can also improve the survival of A. muciniphila during in vitro simulated upper gastrointestinal tract (GIT) transit.
• Anaerobic storage
Microencapsulated A. muciniphila survives better when stored anaerobically at 4 °C.
• Freeze-drying
Cryoprotectant solutions with high sugar or protein content can improve the survival of A. muciniphila during freeze-drying.
Contact Now
