Gut Microbiome Novel Anaerobic Mechanisms in Health and Disease

Joseph Mercola^*

• Midwestern University, Downers Grove, Illinois, United States

The gut microbiome significantly shapes human health, with research revealing its dual role in driving and preventing systemic diseases like obesity, heart disease, cancer, and neurological decline. Dysbiosis can alter energy metabolism, contributing to weight gain in obesity by enhancing energy extraction while also worsening inflammation-a process aggravated by modern diets rich in linoleic acid (LA) from processed oils, which damage colonocytes and disrupts beneficial bacteria. This disruption highlights the importance of the gut's microbial products, particularly short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate, produced by colonic anaerobes such as Akkermansia muciniphila and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, which fuel colonocytes, reduce inflammation, and strengthen the gut barrier. To address this, targeting the colon-the core of microbial metabolism-offers promising therapeutic potential, especially since conventional probiotic administration has traditionally focused on the small intestine. Next-generation probiotics and butyrate, delivered through advanced microencapsulated liposomal time-released systems, could enhance this approach. These tools aim to restore an anaerobic colonic environment, rebalance the microbiome, and counteract LA's effects, opening new avenues for treating metabolic, inflammatory, and neurological conditions.