Researchers are now trying to identify exactly which bacteria held the benefit. Photo: RNZ
New obesity research from Auckland University shows a single pill of 'good' faecal bacteria can significantly improve health.
The study of 87 obese adolescents, published this week in the journal Nature Communications found that four years after a faecal transfer, their risk of developing diabetes and heart disease was much lower.
The treatment involves taking 'good' gut bacteria from healthy donors and putting them in a capsule to ingest.
The "groundbreaking study" took place eight years ago to see whether a faecal transfer would make a difference to health and weight.
Professor Wayne Cutfield said although the group that were given the gut bugs did not lose weight - unlike the placebo group, they did not put it on.
The treatment group were on average 11kg lighter but it was not considered statistically significant, he said.
The study said obese teens often grew up to be obese adults, and were more likely to suffer from a number of health problems.
Dr Cutfield said more than a third of the teens in the study had metabolic syndrome, which had severe consequences for health, including a doubling in the risk of death from heart disease or stroke and a five-fold increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
He said it was notable that one dose had such health benefits.
"What is impressive is that just a single FMT [faecal microbiota transplantation] treatment produced a dramatic reduction in metabolic syndrome that lasted at least four years.
"This means participants are at much lower risk of developing diabetes and heart disease over the long term."
Professor Justin O'Sullivan said the presence of healthy and thriving bacteria in the follow-up study, could change how they looked at the impact of microbiome-based treatments and the timeframes to measure results.
He said researchers were now trying to identify exactly which bacteria held the benefit.
"Imagine being able to programme your microbiome to reduce the risk of conditions before they occur.
"This work is paving the way for next generation probiotics that target specific conditions through sustained changes to the microbiome."
Cutfield said commercialisation was the end goal.
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