Histamine-producing gut bacteria can trigger chronic abdominal pain

The McMaster-Queen’s research team pinpointed the bacterium Klebsiella aerogenes as the key histamine producer by studying germ-free mice colonized with gut microbiota from patients with IBS. They also colonized some mice with gut microbiota from healthy volunteers as a control group.

The study found that the bacterium Klebsiella aerogenes converts dietary histidine, an essential amino acid present in animal and plant protein, into histamine, a known mediator of pain.