Reduction of bilirubin ditaurate by the intestinal bacterium Clostridium perfringens

Abstract

Bilirubin is degraded in the human gut by microflora into urobilinoids. In our study we investigated whether the bilirubin-reducing strain of Clostridium perfringens can reduce bilirubin ditaurate (BDT), a bile pigment of some lower vertebrates, without hydrolysis of the taurine moiety.

C. perfringes was incubated under anaerobic conditions with BDT; reduction products were quantified by spectrophotometry and separated by TLC. Based on Rf values of BDT reduction products and synthetic urobilinogen ditaurate, three novel taurine-conjugated urobilinoids were identified.

It is likely that bilirubin-reducing enzyme(s) serve for the effective disposal of electrons produced by fermentolytic processes in these anaerobic bacteria.

Keywords

• Clostridium perfringens
• bile pigments
• bilirubin ditaurate
• intestinal metabolism
• urobilinoids