Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Mar;24(3):576-82.
doi: 10.1002/oby.21385. Epub 2016 Feb 1.

Metabolic effects of eradicating breath methane using antibiotics in prediabetic subjects with obesity

Ruchi Mathur  1 , Kathleen S Chua  2 , Mindy Mamelak  3 , Walter Morales  2 , Gillian M Barlow  2 , Rita Thomas  4 , Darko Stefanovski  4 , Stacy Weitsman  2 , Zachary Marsh  2 , Richard N Bergman  4 , Mark Pimentel  2
Affiliations

Metabolic effects of eradicating breath methane using antibiotics in prediabetic subjects with obesity

Ruchi Mathur et al. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2016 Mar.

Abstract

Objective: Methanogens colonizing the human gut produce methane and influence host metabolism. This study examined metabolic parameters in methane-producing subjects before and after antibiotic treatment.

Methods: Eleven prediabetic methane-positive subjects (9F, 2M) with obesity (BMI 35.17 ± 7.71 kg/m(2) ) aged 47 ± 9 years were recruited. Subjects underwent breath testing, symptom questionnaire, oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), lipid profile, and stool Methanobrevibacter smithii levels, gastric transit, and energy utilization analyses. After a 10-day antibiotic therapy (neomycin 500 mg bid/rifaximin 550 mg tid), all testing was repeated.

Results: Baseline stool M. smithii levels correlated with breath methane (R = 0.7, P = 0.05). Eight subjects (73%) eradicated breath methane and showed reduced stool M. smithii (P = 0.16). After therapy, methane-eradicated subjects showed significant improvements in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (P = 0.028), total cholesterol (P = 0.01), and insulin levels on OGTT (P = 0.05 at 120 minutes), lower blood glucose levels on OGTT (P = 0.054 at 90 minutes), significant reductions in bloating (P = 0.018) and straining (P = 0.059), and a trend toward lower stool dry weight. No changes were detected in gastric emptying time or energy harvest.

Conclusions: Breath methane eradication and M. smithii reduction are associated with significant improvements in total cholesterol, LDL, and insulin levels and with lower glucose levels in prediabetic subjects with obesity. The underlying mechanisms require further elucidation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Breath methane levels correlate with M. smithii levels determined by stool PCR.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Eradication of breath methane is associated with improvements in total cholesterol (A) and LDL (B) levels.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Eradication of breath methane is associated with lower blood glucose (A) and insulin (B) levels. * denotes P=0.054 (A) and P=0.05 (B).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Diabetes Statistics Report: Estimates of Diabetes and Its Burden in the United States, 2014. Atlanta, GA: 2014.
    1. The Gut Microbiota. Science. 2012:336. special issue. - PubMed
    1. Backhed F, Ley RE, Sonnenburg JL, Peterson DA, Gordon JI. Host-bacterial mutualism in the human intestine. Science. 2005;307:1915–20. - PubMed
    1. Littman DR, Pamer EG. Role of the commensal microbiota in normal and pathogenic host immune responses. Cell Host Microbe. 2011;10:311–23. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sokol H, Pigneur B, Watterlot L, et al. Faecalibacterium prausnitzii is an anti-inflammatory commensal bacterium identified by gut microbiota analysis of Crohn disease patients. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008;105:16731–6. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources