Heyndrickxia coagulans IDCC 1201 Alters Gut Microbiome and Metabolome in Patients with Functional Bowel Disorders.

Background/

Objectives

Functional bowel disorders (FBDs) are chronic gastrointestinal conditions that substantially impair quality of life. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial investigated the effects of Heyndrickxia coagulans IDCC 1201 (COA 1201) in adults with FBD.

Methods

Participants received COA 1201 or a placebo for 8 weeks, with outcomes assessed using the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) Symptom Severity Score (IBS-SSS), IBS Quality of Life (IBS-QOL), and bowel activity measures. And Fecal microbiome and metabolomics were measured by 16S rRNA gene sequencing gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, respectively.

Results

Both groups showed improvement from baseline, but COA 1201 produced greater symptom relief, particularly in abdominal bloating, post-defecation discomfort, and the body image domain of IBS-QOL. Fecal microbiome profiling revealed modest changes in global diversity, yet taxa linked to saccharolytic activity and short-chain fatty acid production-including Ruminococcus bromii, Agathobacter rectalis, and Bifidobacterium-were enriched in participants receiving COA 1201, whereas Clostridium leptum increased in those receiving a placebo. Untargeted metabolomics demonstrated distinct metabolic signatures between groups, confirmed by supervised partial least squares discriminant analysis. Exploratory metabolites were identified using variable importance in projection scores (>1.5), statistical significance (p < 0.05), and absolute log2 fold change (>1). Alanine and proline emerged as time-dependent metabolites, while tryptophan, lactic acid, and phytosphingosine were specifically associated with COA 1201 treatment.

Conclusions

Collectively, these findings suggest that COA 1201 alleviates FBD symptoms by modulating the gut microbiome and metabolome.