Fiber Prebiotics Modulate Gut Redox Potential to Protect Microbiome

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Solution Overview

Problem

Antibiotic-induced gut dysbiosis poses a clinical challenge, leading to health complications such as gastrointestinal inflammation, metabolic disorders, and colorectal cancer, with existing methods like oral drug adsorbents and probiotics often causing further complications by affecting drug activity or disrupting gut equilibrium.

Innovation Solution

Dietary fiber supplements, specifically fiber prebiotics, are used to modulate the gut chemical environment, reducing the impact of antibiotics on microbiome composition and function by preventing increases in gut redox potential, and are combined with mitochondrial complex 1 inhibitors like metformin to protect commensal microbes during antibiotic treatment.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If oral drug adsorbents are used to reduce antibiotic-induced gut dysbiosis, then gut microbiome protection is improved, but drug activity on pathogens is affected

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvegut microbiome protectionVSAvoiddrug activity reduction

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces fiber prebiotics as an intermediary substance that selectively interacts with commensal bacteria to maintain their metabolic activity and protect them from antibiotic damage, while not interfering with the antibiotic's ability to kill pathogenic bacteria. This mediator approach resolves the contradiction by providing targeted protection without broad-spectrum interference.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If probiotic supplements are used to reduce antibiotic-induced gut dysbiosis, then gut microbiome recovery is improved, but gut equilibrium is disrupted

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvegut microbiome recoveryVSAvoidgut equilibrium

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs fiber prebiotics that enable the gut's native commensal bacteria to self-repair and recover from antibiotic damage without external probiotic intervention. The prebiotics provide metabolic support that allows indigenous bacteria to restore their populations and functions naturally, maintaining gut equilibrium while achieving recovery.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Stability of the object's composition

If fiber prebiotics are used to protect commensal microbes, then microbiome composition stability is improved, but bacterial respiratory activity is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemicrobiome composition stabilityVSAvoidbacterial respiratory activity

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent utilizes fiber prebiotics to change the metabolic parameters of commensal bacteria, shifting their metabolism from high-respiratory-activity states to fermentative metabolic states. This parameter change reduces oxygen consumption and respiratory activity while stabilizing the microbiome composition against antibiotic-induced dysbiosis.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

Fiber supplementation alleviates antibiotic-induced dysbiosis by reducing bacterial respiratory activity, promoting a stable and anaerobic gut environment, and when combined with metformin, significantly changes bacterial composition to prevent spikes in oxygen-tolerant bacteria, thereby protecting native gut microbes from antibiotic-induced damage.

Implementation Method 1

Fiber prebiotics can alleviate antibiotic-induced dysbiosis by preventing the increase in gut redox potential seen post-antibiotic treatment

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectRedox potential modulation: Redox Reactions

Implementation Method 2

Fiber supplementation reduces bacterial respiratory activity when compared to control mice given glucose. Fiber supplementation reduces high-energy metabolic processes and promotes fermentation making this gut environment less susceptible to the oxidative damage induced by antibiotics

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectFermentation: Fermentation

Implementation Method 3

The invention provides for using mitochondrial complex 1 inhibitors with fiber prebiotics to treat gut dysbiosis... metformin chemically behaves as a metal chelator. These changes to microbiome composition are time-dependent and point to more complex regulation of the microbiome by metformin that requires further exploration

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectMetabolic inhibition: Enzyme

Data Source

PatentUS20240180955A1Fiber supplementation protects from antibiotic-induced gut microbiome dysbiosis by modulating redox metabolism

Publication Date: 2024.06.06 BROWN UNIVERSITY

AI summary

The invention provides for the use of metformin or other mitochondrial complex 1 inhibitors with fiber probiotics to treat gut dysbiosis, especially antibiotic-induced gut dysbiosis (AID).