A reader forwarded me a copy of a 2019 patent application Therapeutic agent for chronic fatigue syndrome. Patents are an interesting mining source because often they come from unpublished studies. The last time that I did a patent review, I found some interesting stuff.

On the flip side, the inclusion of ME/CFS in the patent application rarely means that the focus is ME/CFS. Patents are written to be ascribe every possible use just in case someone later discover a use. I have several patents and have written over a half dozen of them.

This is a quick review of a few of the more interesting patent applications that mentions ME/CFS:

• Therapeutic agent for chronic fatigue syndrome – agent is Japanese horseradish (wasabi)
• FMT Related
  • Compositions for Fecal Floral Transplantation and Methods for Making and Using Them and Devices for Delivering Them
  • Microbiota restoration therapy (MRT), compositions and methods of manufacture
  • Compositions for the restoration of a fecal microbiota and methods for making and using them
  • Freeze dried fecal microbiota for use in fecal microbial transplantation
  • Compositions and Methods for Transplantation of Colon Microbiota
  • Microbiota restoration therapy (mrt), compositions and methods of manufacture
• Cyclopropanamine compound and use thereof  a lysine-specific demethylase-1 inhibitor
• Probiotic recolonisation therapy ”  The compositions further comprise one or more additional viable non-pathogenic or attenuated pathogenic microorganisms selected from the group consisting of Bacteroides, Eubacteria, Fusobacteria, Propionibacteria, Lactobacilli, anaerobic cocci, Ruminococcus, E. coli, Gemmiger, Desulfomonas, Peptostreptococcus,  ” – sounds like a fishing expeditions to get a patent.
• Methods of Populating a Gastrointestinal Tract
• Disease treatment composition comprising a combination of microbiota-derived bioactive molecules ” A composition having an effect of inducing tolerance, enhancing intestinal barrier integrity, and reducing inflammation, comprising: (a) one or more short-chain fatty acids or short-chain fatty acid derivatives; (C) at least one GPR43 ligand; (d) at least one histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor; (e) one or more clostridial cluster IV, clostridial cluster XIVa, or clostridial cluster XVIII (F) a flagellin polypeptide; or (g) a combination of at least one of (a) to (d) and one of (e) to (f) ” – in short, extracting select chemicals that some bacteria produces.
• Topical macqui berry formula
• Methods and compositions relating to microbial treatment and diagnosis of disorders
• Modulation of blood brain barrier permeability

Bottom Line

Only one was CFS specific, Japanese horseradish (wasabi) . There were many dealing with FMT — I enjoyed seeing the “Fecal Floral Transplant” – A shit by any other name (to paraphrase Shakespeare)

Looking at wasabi or horseradish, I found no significant literature on it’s impact on the microbiome. I found just 140+ studies citing wasabi

• Wasabia japonica is a potential functional food to prevent colitis via inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway. [2017]
• Administration of Wasabia koreana Ameliorates Irritable Bowel Syndrome-Like Symptoms in a Zymosan-Induced Mouse Model. [2017]
• Antibacterial Activities of Wasabi against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Staphylococcus aureus. [2016]
• Food Intolerance: Associations with the rs12212067 Polymorphism of FOXO3 in Crohn’s Disease Patients in New Zealand. ” We identified 17 foods with beneficial effects in our study which were significantly associated with the G allele of the FOXO3 rs12212067 polymorphism. Of these, sweet potatoes had the highest reported frequency of beneficial responses. We also identified 4 foods with detrimental effects in more than 25% of our study population. These were mustard, wasabi, and raw and cooked tomatoes, which again were significantly associated with the G allele in FOXO3. “
• Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Anti-Inflammatory Actions of 6-(Methylsulfinyl)hexyl Isothiocyanate Derived from Wasabi (Wasabia japonica). [2012]
• Bactericidal activity of wasabi (Wasabia japonica) against Helicobacter pylori. [2004]
• Suppressive effect of wasabi (pungent Japanese spice) on gastric carcinogenesis induced by MNNG in rats. [1991]

Since the western diet is relatively devoid of deeply-colored fruits, vegetables and other plant-derived culinary items (e.g., turmeric, ginger, seaweeds, purslane, wasabi, Brassica-family sprouts, and regional spices) this represents a loss of complex phytochemicals that would otherwise make their way into the gastrointestinal tract

The Microbiome and Mental Health: Looking Back, Moving Forward with Lessons from Allergic Diseases [2016]

Wasabi does appear to have significant benefit for a variety of stomach ailments. It is likely beneficial for many digestive issues — NOTE: that it may be harmful for people with the FOXO3 mutation (we are back to the DNA-Microbiome interaction complexities).