Blautia are friendly commensal bacteria that live in the gut of humans and some animals. They like places without oxygen, such as the intestines, where they become part of the healthy gut microbiota.
They support our digestive health by breaking down plant-based foods that are difficult for us to digest. Blautia can help transform hard-to-digest plant components like fibres into smaller, useful molecules, including short-chain fatty acids like acetate and propionate. These stimulate mucus production, which in turn increases the mucus layer that protects the gut. In other words, feeding your gut fibre may also help protect digestive health through Blautia metabolism.
But Blautia is not a loud bacterial celebrity. It is more like a quiet neighbour in the gut: living without oxygen, breaking down plant foods, producing useful molecules and helping shape the microbial community around it.
Everything we eat comes into contact with the bacteria living in our gastrointestinal tract. Our commensal gut bacteria transform the incoming food into different molecules, with short-chain fatty acids being the most important ones. These small molecules interact with your gut as well as the rest of your body. Certain factors, like diet influence which molecules and how much of them gut microbes produce.
Bacteria in your gut microbiome help you digest your food, strengthen your immune system and keep you healthy. For this, your gut bacteria keep you free from gut pathogenic bacteria by fighting them with different weapons. Here, we explore some ways gut bacteria defend pathogens and how you can help them protect you.