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Stanford scientists link ulcerative colitis to missing gut microbes
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The microbe makes metabolites that help keep the gut healthy.
…Their first clue lay in a large difference in levels of a group of substances called secondary bile acids in the intestines…
Primary bile acids are produced in the liver, stored in the gallbladder and released into the digestive tract to help emulsify fats. The vast majority of secreted primary bile acids are taken up in the intestine, where resident bacteria perform a series of enzymatic operations to convert them to secondary bile acids.
Prior research has suggested…that secondary bile acids are depleted in ulcerative colitis patients and in those with a related condition, Crohn’s disease, in which tissue-destroying inflammation can occur in both the colon and the small intestine.