TARIF

Although some gut bacteria can produce thiamine in the gut environment, many butyrate producing bacteria, including F. prausnitzii, appear to depend on dietary thiamine or cross-feeding from other bacterial species in the colon. In some situations, a lack of thiamine in the colon may thus reduce the number of butyrate producing bacteria (and butyrate) in the colon. A previous study has shown that IBD patients with fatigue symptoms were indeed characterized by a significant reduction in butyrate producing bacteria in the colon and a less diverse microbiome. Also, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome more generally has been linked to reduced levels of butyrate producing families of bacteria. Recently, a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled crossover trial showed that high-dose oral thiamine significantly reduced chronic fatigue in IBD patients in remission6. Here we will further explore the possibility that this beneficial effect of thiamine may be explained by induced changes in the microbiome including increased levels of butyrate producing bacteria and in situ butyrate.