LIVER, GUT BACTERIA ALTER FOOD MOLECULES, INFLUENCE BODY'S BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., Sept. 23 -- Pennsylvania State University issued the following news release:

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The liver, as well as gut bacteria, in humans can alter molecules in food to influence signaling pathways that can activate or deactivate an array of genes, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State.

The study, which took place in both humans and mice, was published in the Nature journal Communications Biology. When gut bacteria break down the dietary amino acid tryptophan - a protein building block found in common foods, including nuts, cheese and chicken - it produces a molecule, or metabolite, called indole-3-acetic acid (IAA).

The researchers found that the gut bacteria and the liver can chemically...