Clostridium difficori gut microbes metabolize flavonoids to fight severe influenza.

A U.S. study has shown that a gut microbe called Clostridium difficori helps mice fight severe influenza by metabolizeing flavonoids.
researchers report in the April issue of the journal Science that flavonoids are naturally present in foods such as black tea, red wine and blueberries that people consume every day, and eating more of them can help fight the flu.
is extremely harmful to the elderly, infants, pregnant women and people with chronic diseases such as asthma.
113 children in the U.S. have died of the flu each year since 2004, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
previous studies have shown that gut microbes may help fight the flu.
new study, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis hope to find a mechanism by which gut microbes fight the flu.
the researchers screened the human gut microbe and found that Clostridium difficori metabolizes flavonoids, producing a metabolite that enhances interferon signaling, deaminotytry tyrosine (DAT).
they gave the mice a DAT and then infected them with the flu virus, and found that the mice had far less lung damage than those who did not receive DAT treatment, but the level of viral infection was basically the same as in mice that did not receive treatment.
means that DAT does not stop the virus from infecting, but inhibits the damage the virus does to lung tissue.
compounds have long been thought to help the immune system fight infections, and new research suggests they may need to work with gut microbes to protect people from flu and other viruses.
researchers note that flavonoids are common in the diet and are found in foods such as black tea, red wine and blueberries, so it's good to eat more of them before the flu season begins.
(Reporter Liu Haiying) Source: Science and Technology Daily