Friendly bacteria means more chocolate
10 May 2006 by Evoluted New Media
Consuming strawberries, chocolate and beer in excess can all lead to kidney stones – but don’t panic - the danger might be prevented by probiotics
Consuming strawberries, chocolate and beer in excess can all lead to kidney stones – but don’t panic - the danger might be prevented by probiotics
A team from the University of Dundee has found that a common type of bacteria found in raw milk can break down oxalate – the compound that forms kidney stones.
Ms Thokozile Lewanika, a researcher on the team said: “lactobacillus, which is one of the hundreds of friendly bacteria or probiotics we normally carry in our guts, can break down oxalate.” She added: “We made an artificial model of the human colon and showed that this particular lactobacillus can degrade oxalate efficiently in the same space, acid conditions and time it would have in people.”
We cannot break down oxalate in our bodies, so once consumed it is either broken down by bacteria living in our intestines or excreted in our urine, which is when it can form kidney stones.
The list of foods containing the chemical compound oxalate is long, and ranges from common comfort foods like strawberries and chocolate, through traditionally healthy spinach, to beer and rhubarb.
The next step for the Dundee team is to test the efficiency of lactobacillus in clinical trials. As these bacteria are commonly found in foods we eat, the team hope moving from hospital trials to a medical dose of the probiotic will be much quicker than the usual toxicity tests needed in new drug development.
