High-resolution taxonomic examination of the oral microbiome after oil pulling with standardized sunflower seed oil and healthy participants: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed at the high-resolution examination of the oral microbiome depending on oil pulling, compared it with saline pulling, and analyzed whether the method is capable of reducing the overall microbial burden of the oral cavity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was a cohort study with three healthy subjects. Oil pulling samples, saline pulling samples, and saliva samples were microscoped and cultured under microaerophilic and anaerobic conditions; colony-forming units were counted; and cultivated bacteria were identified employing MALDI-TOF MS. The oral microbiomes (saliva) and the microbiota incorporated in oil and saline pulling samples were determined in toto by using 16S rDNA next-generation sequencing (NGS) and bioinformatics. RESULTS: Microscopy revealed that oral epithelial cells are ensheathed with distinct oil droplets during oil pulling. Oil pulling induced a higher production of saliva and the oil/saliva emulsion contained more bacteria than saline pulling samples. Oil pulling resulted in a significant and transient reduction of the overall microbial burden in comparison to saliva examined prior to and after pulling. Both oil and saline pulling samples mirrored the individual oral microbiomes in saliva. CONCLUSIONS: Within the limitations of this pilot study, it might be concluded that oil pulling is able to reduce the overall microbial burden of the oral cavity transiently and the microbiota in oil pulling samples are representative to the oral microbiome. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Within the limitations of this pilot study, it might be concluded that oil pulling can be considered as an enlargement of standard oral hygiene techniques since it has the characteristic of an oral massage, enwrapping epithelial cells carrying bacteria in oil vesicles and reaching almost all unique habitats in oral cavity.

IL-13 as Target to Reduce Cholestasis and Dysbiosis in Abcb4 Knockout Mice.

The Th2 cytokine IL-13 is involved in biliary epithelial injury and liver fibrosis in patients as well as in animal models. The aim of this study was to investigate IL-13 as a therapeutic target during short term and chronic intrahepatic cholestasis in an Abcb4-knockout mouse model (Abcb4-/-). Lack of IL-13 protected Abcb4-/- mice transiently from cholestasis. This decrease in serum bile acids was accompanied by an enhanced excretion of bile acids and a normalization of fecal bile acid composition. In Abcb4-/-/IL-13-/- double knockout mice, bacterial translocation to the liver was significantly reduced and the intestinal microbiome resembled the commensal composition in wild type animals. In addition, 52-week-old Abcb4-/-IL-13-/- mice showed significantly reduced hepatic fibrosis. Abcb4-/- mice devoid of IL-13 transiently improved cholestasis and converted the composition of the gut microbiota towards healthy conditions. This highlights IL-13 as a potential therapeutic target in biliary diseases.