The living medicine inside us: <i>in vitro</i> therapeutic prospects of human gut bacteria

Gut microbial metabolism is intimately coupled to host health and disease. Recent knowledge on potential health benefits of gut microbiome lays the groundwork for development of novel therapeutic strategies. But how microbiota-derived metabolites impact on host-microbiome crosstalk remains untapped from therapeutic perspectives. In this study, six gut bacteria sourced from a fecal pool of forty healthy donors were cultured in three distinct growth media. Subsequently, the bacteria were identified through 16S rRNA gene sequencing and subjected to metabolite extraction to evaluate their anti-microbial, anti-oxidant and anti-thrombotic potential. Findings reveal strong anti-oxidant activities in the metabolic-extracts from all the isolates. Metabolites derived from Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Priestia flexa and Bacillus subtiilis inhibited the growth of clinically pathogenic strains Escherichia coli ATCC-8739, Salmonella typhi ATCC-1408 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC-6538. Escherichia fergusonii originated metabolites demonstrated the highest efficacy in lysing blood clots compared to streptokinase. Additionally, extracts from all the isolates exhibited significant ability to delay coagulation time, competing with standard warfarin. Thus, the findings of our early-stage study provide novel insights into metabolomic functions of gut microbiota. This study underscores the significance of exploring these active metabolites for prospective therapeutic and clinical exploration at the intersection of drug discovery and live bio-therapeutics.