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Dietary Supplement and Metabolite Found to Protect against Asthma
Source: Adam Gault/SPL/Getty Images
January 26, 2021
A study that was designed to investigate how the immune system impacts gut bacteria has led to the discovery that two molecules, L-tyrosine and its metabolite, p-cresol sulfate (PCS), can not only provide profound protection in experimental models of asthma, but can also substantially reduce the severity of an attack. While L-tyrosine is already commercially available as a dietary supplement that is marketed to help boost alertness and attention, neither the amino acid itself nor PCS had previously been known to have an effect on asthma.
Jan 25, 2021 11:00am Australian researchers found a protective effect of L-tyrosine and p-cresol sulfate in mouse asthma models as well as preclinical models of lung inflammation caused by COVID-19. (Pixabay)
One of the questions researchers have about the microbiome the population of bacteria that live in the gut is how it might be influenced by the immune system. A team of researchers from Monash University s Central Clinical School in Melbourne, Australia, set out to answer that question, and in the process found two molecules the scientists believe could offer new treatment strategies for asthma.
One of the molecules, L-tyrosine, is sold over the counter as a dietary supplement. So, the researchers plan to fast-track it into clinical trials. If it works, they believe it might also be used to treat acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in COVID-19 patients, they reported in the journal Nature Immunology.