IPN scientists treat irritable bowel syndrome with agave

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Scientists from the Biotic Products Development Center under the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) in Mexico have developed a method to treat irritable bowel syndrome with blue agave ( Agave tequilana ).

The research was focused on the antioxidant and protective properties of prebiotics found in agavines (a substance extracted from the agave plant).

The irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a digestive disorder that is frequently diagnosed in clinical practice.

Common symptoms include abdominal pain, distension, swelling, intense and painful contractions of the rectum (tenesmus) , as well as a change in the frequency of bowel movements.

The IPN noted that, according to a study on IBS published in Mexico’s Journal of Gastroenterology , this condition is one of the most common functional disorders, affecting the quality of life of patients to different degrees.

It is estimated that between 16 and 30 percent of the population suffers from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and though it mainly affects women under the age of 45, it also affects male patients.

The research progress was analyzed at the Microscopy and Imaging Laboratory of the institution’s Biotechnology Department . The size, shape, size, irregular structures, and patterns of cell organization were monitored in order to determine how the human body could react to the treatment.

The IPN specialists also carried out studies with polysaccharides, sterols, and saponins extracted from agave plants at the laboratory, with the support of technology development institutions from the state of Morelos.

The research team is led by Antonio Ruperto Jiménez Aparicio, Martha Lucía Arenas Ocampo, and Brenda Hildeliza Camacho Díaz .

After five years of work they joined forces with the National Institute of Nutrition "Salvador Zubirán" to assess the effectiveness of agave prebiotics on people with IBS and the results were in order to test the effectiveness of agave prebiotics in people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and the results were very encouraging.

They assured that "after a month of treatment with an agavin gelatin, the pain was reduced, inflammation decreased, and people who defecated once or twice a week increased said frequency to twice a day, though the treatment did not cause diarrhea," explained Brenda Camacho.

The function of the agavines extracted from agave fructans is to feed the microbiota of the colon, which consumes them, ferments them, and improves intestine motility with minimal side effects.

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