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The Efficacy of Pasteurised Akkermansia Muciniphila in Healthy Medical Workers

The Effects of the Anti-inflammatory Microbe - Pasteurized Akkermansia Muciniphila (PAM) on Symptoms of Somatic and Mental Stress in Healthcare Professionals

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05738746
Acronym
MENTAkHEALTH
Enrollment
202
Registered
2023-02-22
Start date
2023-10-24
Completion date
2025-03-10
Last updated
2025-03-18

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Dietary Supplement, Healthy, Stress

Keywords

microbiota, postbiotic, stress, metabolome, immunometabolism

Brief summary

Gut microbiota alterations secondary to chronic stress might serve as a triggering factor towards manifestation of somatic and mental symptoms. The administration of pasteurised A. muciniphila MucT has the capability of supporting microbiota and improving the gut barrier integrity, which might lead to decrease of inflammation and the negative health consequences of stress in healthy participants.

Detailed description

The Gut-brain-microbiota axis (GBMA) is a bi-directional pathway, both neuronal and biochemical, between the intestine and the Central Nervous System (CNS). The gut microbiota plays a central role in gut-brain communication. The composition of intestinal microbiota and its functions play an important role in the pathogenesis of disorders of gut-brain interaction - both within the digestive tract and in the brain. Modulation of gut microbiota with the aid of probiotics, antibiotics, or germ-free feeding protocols significantly altered stressful event-induced behavioral outcomes in rodents. Moreover, the intake of various probiotics significantly improved stress-induced anxiety and depressive-like behaviors in mice. In humans, probiotics were also documented to display some beneficial effects on mental health, including alteration of emotional bias in healthy individuals, and alleviating stress and anxiety among stressed adults. Psychobiotics are imposed with certain limitations related to their standardization and end-shelf-life product stability. Therefore, the use of postbiotics, which contain bacterial metabolites or other bacteria derived fragments are viewed as novel solutions and alternatives to use of standard probiotics. One of novel postbiotics of interest among scientists and clinicians is pasteurized Akkermansia muciniphila MucT (PAM). Animal studies indicate that administration of Akkermansia muciniphila can ameliorate metabolic syndrome, obesity, diabetes, and inflammatory bowel disease in animals and has psychobiotic potential. Similar to live A. muciniphila, PAM could ameliorate several diseases as well. The mechanism of action of PAM - improving gut barrier integrity - suggests the potential use to reduce the negative effects of stress. Human studies shown that PAM is safety, what was confirmed in the Scientific Opinion of EFSA. Recently A. muciniphila was approved as the Novel Food. A proof of concept study will be conducted to verify the hypothesis that PAM reduces the psychological and somatic effects of stress.

Interventions

PAM supplementation; packaging will be given to the subjects every one month during follow-up visits, with the instructions to take one dose every morning on an empty stomach

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTPlacebo

PBO administration; packaging will be given to the subjects every one month during follow-up visits, with the instructions to take one dose every morning on an empty stomach

Sponsors

SANPROBI SPOLKA Z OGRANICZONA ODPOWIEDZIALNOSCIA SPOLKA KOMANDYTOWA
CollaboratorUNKNOWN
THE AKKERMANSIA COMPANY
CollaboratorUNKNOWN
Charite University, Berlin, Germany
CollaboratorOTHER
MAX DELBRUECK CENTRUM FUER MOLEKULARE MEDIZIN IN DER HELMHOLTZ-GEMEINSCHAFT (MDC) - MDC
CollaboratorUNKNOWN
Imperial College London
CollaboratorOTHER
Pomeranian Medical University Szczecin
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator)

Masking description

Sequentially numbered drug containers of identical appearance

Intervention model description

parallel-groups, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical study

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 70 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Working in a high stress hospital department, like: emergency, trauma, intensive care, surgery, internal diseases; * Written informed consent to participate in this study before any study-mandated procedure; * Body mass index (BMI) ≥18.5 kg/m2 and ≤ 35 kg/m2; * A willingness and motivation to follow the study protocol.

Exclusion criteria

* Diagnosis of autoimmune, neurological, immunocompromised, thyroid, inflammatory bowel diseases, irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, cancer, and/or IgE-dependent allergy; * Psychiatric comorbidities, including mental retardation, organic brain dysfunction, or addiction (except nicotine and caffeine), intake of antipsychotic and antidepressive drugs; * Proton pump inhibitors usage; * The use of antibiotics and/or probiotics 4 weeks prior to the study; * Glucocorticosteroids and/or metformin treatment; * Dietary supplementation (except for vitamin D) within the three months before screening; * Specific restrictive (e.g. elimination, vegan, FODMAP, reduction) diet within the three months before screening; * Significant changes in physical activity 4 weeks before the trial entry; * Pregnancy or lactation; * Significant GI surgery within the last 6 months prior to or planned during the study; * Any other medication for management of IBS complaints like peppermint oil, bile acid binders; * Lactose intolerance; * Participation in another study during the last 30 days prior to and during the study; * Any other reason for exclusion as per investigator's judgment, e.g. insufficient compliance with study procedures.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Stress intensitybaselineserum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) in blood
Cardiovascular marker of stressor intensitybaselineblood pressure
Psychosocial working conditionsbaselineCopenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ). The scales of the COPSOQ are formed by adding the points of the individual questions of the scales by giving equal weights to each question. In most cases the questions have five response options. In these cases the weights are: 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100. The scale value is calculated as the simple average
The recognition of the most common mental disordersbaselinePrimary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD). The yes/no questionnaire serves as an initial screen for 5 general groups of mental disorders commonly found in the general population
DepressionbaselinePatient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Nine items, each of which is scored 0 to 3, providing a 0 to 27 severity score.This score can then be referred to the accompanying PHQ-9 Scoring Box to interpret the TOTAL score.
Depressive statebaselineThe Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). When the test is scored, a value of 0 to 3 is assigned for each answer and then the total score is compared to a key to determine the depression's severity. The standard cut-off scores were as follows: 0-18: indicates minimal depression 18-30: indicates mild depression 19-29: indicates moderate depression 30-63: indicates severe depression.
Anxiety and stressbaselineDepression Anxiety Stress Scale 21 (DASS-21). This is a set of three self-report scales designed to measure the emotional states of depression, anxiety and stress. The rating scale is as follows: 0 - Did not apply to me at all 1. \- Applied to me to some degree, or some of the time 2. \- Applied to me to a considerable degree, or a good part of time 3. \- Applied to me very much, or most of the time. SUBSCALES: DASS\_Anxiety = questions 2 + 4 + 7 + 9 + 15 + 19 + 20 DASS\_Depression = questions 3 + 5 + 10 + 13 + 16 + 17 + 21 DASS\_Stress = questions 1 + 6 + 8 + 11 + 12 + 14 +18
Occurrence of Irritable Bowel SyndromebaselineRome IV criteria
Occurence and severity of gastrointestinal symptomsbaselineGastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS)

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
AdipositybaselineFat mass/fat free mass evaluated by bioimpedance
ObesitybaselineBody weight
Dietary habitsbaselinethe frequency of certain food consumption (rank score) by means of validated Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ).
Physical activitybaselineInternational Physical Activity Questionnaire. Results can be reported in categories (low activity levels, moderate activity levels or high activity levels) or as a continuous variable (MET minutes a week).
Microbiota compositionbaselinenext generation sequencing
Insulin resistancebaselineHOMA-Homeostasis Model Assessment calculated from fasted glycemia and insulinemia
carbohydrate metabolismbaselineglycated hemoglobin (HbA1c)
Concentration of blood lipidsbaselineAnalysis of circulating lipids : total, LDL and HDL cholesterol (mg/dl), triglycerides (md/dl)
Functions of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs)baselinemass cytometry (CyTOF)
A. muciniphila count in stoolbaselinereal-time quantitative PCR (qPCR)
Total bacteria count in stoolbaselinereal-time quantitative PCR (qPCR)
Short chain fatty acids content in stoolbaselinequadrupole mass spectrometer and high performance liquid chromatograph
Immune phenotypes of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs)baselinesingle-cell genomics (scRNA-seq and scATAC-seq) analyses (in blood)
Inflammatory mediators concentrations in bloodbaselinehigh-throughput protein biomarker analysis with the advent of Proximity Extension Assay
Zonulin concentration in stoolbaselineenzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)
Calprotectin concentration in stoolbaselineenzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)
Lipopolysaccharide concentration in bloodbaselineenzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)

Countries

Poland

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026