20th April 2023 – (Singapore) Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have discovered that milk-derived extracellular vesicles (mEVs) could potentially be a new treatment for leaky gut syndrome, a condition characterised by chronic diarrhoea, constipation, flatulence, abdominal pain, bloating, and nutritional deficiency. The mEVs, which are derived from cow’s milk and human breast milk, contain proteins and small nucleic acids that suppress intestinal inflammation and repair the damaged gut barrier, according to the research, which was published in Science Advances. As well as preventing the leakage of gut bacterial toxins into the bloodstream, the mEVs could also avert toxin-induced liver damage. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease affects 40% of Singapore’s population, while inflammatory bowel disease impacts one to three in every 10,000 Singaporeans, while one in 10 people suffer from irritable bowel syndrome.
