Effects of proton pump inhibitor on the human gut microbiome profile in multi-ethnic groups in SingaporeOriginal paper
Karen Pendergrass is a microbiome researcher specializing in microbiome-targeted interventions (MBTIs). She systematically analyzes scientific literature to identify microbial patterns, develop hypotheses, and validate interventions. As the founder of the Microbiome Signatures Database, she bridges microbiome research with clinical practice. In 2012, based on her own investigative research, she became the first documented case of FMT for Celiac Disease, four years before the first published case study.
Read MoreWhat was studied?
Researchers examined how ethnicity, gender, and the proton pump inhibitor omeprazole affect the human gut microbiome. Healthy Chinese (n=12), Malay (n=12), and Indian (n=10) adults aged 21 to 37 were enrolled in Singapore.
How was it studied?
Subjects gave a baseline stool sample, then took omeprazole 20 mg daily for seven days. Stool was resampled on Day 7 and Day 14, one week after stopping the drug, and analysed by 16S rRNA sequencing on Illumina MiSeq.
What did they find?
Species richness rose significantly on Day 7 (p = 0.018) then returned to baseline by Day 14. Streptococcus vestibularis and Veillonella dispar increased sharply on Day 7 (p = 0.0001 each) and diminished after stopping. Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Sutterella stercoricanis, and Bacteroides denticanum characterised Chinese, Malay, and Indian subjects respectively, while Lactobacillaceae and Bacteroides xylanisolvens distinguished male and female subjects.
Why it matters
The reversible shifts triggered by omeprazole may help explain why PPI therapy is linked to a higher risk of Clostridium difficile infection.