Non-gut microbiota as a source of bioactive hydrogen.

Abstract

About 150 years ago, molecular hydrogen (H2) has been identified as a main component of intestinal gas in humans, with subsequent studies detailed its production by coliform bacteria of large intestine as a consequence of food fermentation. Being traditionally recognised as a biologically inert gas, endogenous H2 is either passed in flatus or absorbed by colon mucosa into the circulation and then released by the respiration outside the body. However, recent studies suggest that endogenous H2 has an associative effect in the human body, acting as an anti-inflammatory biomolecule that manifests cardioprotective effects or safeguards against tissue injury. These early evidences of the possible biological effects of H2 focus additional attention on H2 origin in the human body, with the gastrointestinal flora may not be an exclusive reservoir of endogenous H2. Here, I advance non-gut microbiota as another source of endogenous H2 and put forward an alternative role of bacteria-driven hydrogen in human health.

Study details

Article type

Letter