Recent studies highlight promising pathways for asthma management by exploring the effects of soil intake on intestinal flora and immune response. The study, led by Mengjie Li and colleagues from Southeast University, provides important insights into how low-clean living environments (LCLE) (especially soil) can alter gut microbiota and alleviate symptoms of asthma. The study was published in the journal World Allergy Organization.
Dr. Dongrui Zhou from Southeast University worked with his team to study the study, examining whether disinfected soil can act as a prebiotic to alleviate inflammation in mouse ovarian protein (OVA)-induced asthma models. The results show that soil intake can significantly change the composition of the intestinal flora and reduce the expression of asthma-related proinflammatory cytokines. This work was published in the journal World Allergy Organization.
Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease that affects more than 300 million people worldwide. Epidemiological studies have shown that exposure to LCLE can increase intestinal microbial diversity and prevent allergic diseases. The study aims to explore whether ingested sterilized soil incubates with microorganisms in the air, which can alter the gut microbiota and alleviate symptoms of asthma.
The researchers used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to perform a series of experiments to analyze intestinal microbial composition and immune parameters measured in lung and serum samples. The results showed that there were significant differences in fecal flora composition between the test mice and the control mice. It is worth noting that the test mice exhibited higher levels of beneficial bacteria, such as IOCOVID, Aristips and Lachnospileceae ucg-001, which are known to produce short-chain fatty acids that are beneficial to health.
Soil intake also significantly downregulated serum IL-4 and IL-9 concentrations and increased IFN-γ expression, which helped to regulate Th1/Th2 balance in the lung by biasing the immune system towards TH1, thereby reducing OVA-induced inflammation of egg asthma. According to Dr. Zhou, “Soil intake effectively reduces the expression of inflammatory cytokines in asthma mice, which may be reduced by promoting the growth of a variety of beneficial bacteria.”
Further experiments show that soil intake promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria, which plays a crucial role in maintaining gut health and allergic reactions. The study suggests that soil-based prebiotics may be potential treatments for managing allergic asthma by enhancing the composition of the intestinal microbiota and promoting an anti-inflammatory immune response.
The study also explores the effects of various factors, such as air microbial organisms and age on the composition of the gut microbiota. Although these factors do work, the effects of soil intake are more pronounced. This finding highlights the potential of soil-based interventions to regulate gut health and alleviate symptoms of asthma.
In summary, this study provides evidence supporting soil-based prebiotic products based on soil-based allergic asthma management. Dr. Zhou stressed the importance of these findings, noting: “The results suggest that the development of soil-based prebiotic products may be used in the management of allergic asthma.”
Journal Reference
Li, M., Li, N., Dong, Y., Zhang, H., Bai, Z., Zhang, R., Fei, Z., Z., Zhu, W., Xiao, P., Sun, X. & Zhou, D. (2024). Soil intake modifies the intestinal flora and alleviates Th2 immune responses in ovarian protein-induced asthma mouse models. World Allergy Organization Journal, 17, 100897. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.waojou.2024.100897
About the Author
Dr. Zhou Dongrui He is an associate professor in the Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Sciences, Southeast University of China. Their research has been focusing on the impact of environmental cleanliness on intestinal microecology since 2007. They found that low-clean environments play an important role in accelerating intestinal microbial repair and maintaining intestinal microecological balance. Their further study found that soil in low-clean environments is a key factor in maintaining the microecology balance of the gut. They also found that soil intake has a significant therapeutic effect on allergic diseases (allergic rhinitis, asthma, eczema, urticaria, chronic enteritis, etc.) as well as regression to autism, TICS and ADHD combined with allergic diseases.
