Probiotics before child birth may help protect against toxic exposures

New York, Nov 23 (IANS) Probiotic supplementation can reduce the negative impacts of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) on neurodevelopment, behaviour and metabolism, according to a new study.

PBDEs are fire-retardant chemicals that are found everywhere — upholstery, carpets, curtains, electronics, and even infant products.

Known to disrupt hormones and persist in the environment, these pollutants have been detected in water, soil, air, food products, animals, human tissues and even breast milk, according to the study by University of California, Riverside and published in Archives of Toxicology.

“Exposure to PBDEs during the perinatal period produces autistic-like behaviour and metabolism syndrome in mice,” said Margarita C. Curras-Collazo, a professor of neuroscience who led the study.

“These compounds also disrupt the gut microbiome, which has been linked to brain and metabolic health. Our study shows supplementing the maternal diet with the probiotic Limosilactobacillus reuteri can help prevent these negative effects,” Curras-Collazo added.

L reuteri, or LR, typically resides in the digestive tract, where it generates lactic acid.

Additionally, it can be found in beans, artichokes, and sweet potatoes, and in fermented foods such as sourdough bread, as well as miso, kimchi, and sauerkraut. It is frequently included in yogurts and other dairy products and, therefore, is readily accessible.

The researchers exposed mouse mothers to a PBDE mixture or a control (corn oil) during pregnancy and breast-feeding. This was done over a 10-week period to model the kind of exposures humans face.

Some of the mice were supplemented with LR. The researchers then examined the offspring for developmental benchmarks during the postnatal period and for behaviour during adulthood.

They found male offspring exposed to PBDEs had a delay in body weight gain. Further, their incisor eruption was abnormally timed.

“To our surprise, we found LR treatment prevented delays in male weight gain and helped normalize the timing of tooth eruption in both sexes,” said Elena Kozlova, a doctoral student working in Curras-Collazo’s lab and co-first author on the paper.

According to Curras-Collazo, using gut microbiota-focused therapies before birth through the mother may help protect against developmental and adult diseases linked to toxic exposures.

–IANS

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