Gut microbes may gobble up the medications we take before drugs have a chance to reach their targets, a new study suggests. But the trillions of gut bacteria that we coexist with (mostly) peacefully can work against us sometimes, too. Researchers at Harvard University discovered that some gut bacteria can break down drugs, like those used to treat Parkinson's disease, rendering them ineffective, or even toxic. Their discovery may one day help scientists develop drugs that block or bypass the gut's attempts to devour drugs before they hit their targets. Rekdal and his team tested L-dopa against a library of human gut bacteria species.

Source: Daily Mail June 13, 2019 21:33 UTC