Is Pasteurized Akkermansia Still Alive?
No, pasteurized Akkermansia muciniphila is not alive—pasteurization kills the bacteria, but the dead bacterial cells retain beneficial biological activity and may actually be more effective than live bacteria for certain health outcomes. 1, 2
Understanding Pasteurization of Akkermansia
Pasteurization is a heat treatment process that kills microorganisms. The standard pasteurization process raises temperature to at least 161°F (71.7°C) for more than 15 seconds, which is lethal to bacteria. 3 When Akkermansia muciniphila undergoes pasteurization, the bacterial cells are killed, meaning they cannot reproduce or metabolize. 1
Viability Requirements for Safety
- The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has established that pasteurized A. muciniphila is safe for human consumption specifically when the number of viable (living) cells is less than 10 colony forming units (CFU) per gram, which is essentially the limit of detection—meaning virtually no living bacteria should remain. 1
- The approved safe dose is up to 3.4 × 10¹⁰ dead cells per day for adults (excluding pregnant and lactating women), provided viable cells are below detection limits. 1
Biological Activity Despite Being Dead
The critical insight is that dead bacterial cells retain important biological properties:
Mucin-Binding Properties Preserved
- Pasteurized A. muciniphila maintains its ability to bind to intestinal mucins even after heat treatment, which is independent of the bacteria being alive. 4
- The mucin-binding properties are not abolished by pasteurization and work through recognition of specific O-glycan structures (unsialylated LacNAc disaccharides on core2 and core3 O-glycans). 4
Superior Therapeutic Effects When Pasteurized
- In direct comparison studies, pasteurized A. muciniphila demonstrated MORE effective amelioration of ulcerative colitis symptoms than live bacteria. 2
- Pasteurized A. muciniphila more efficiently encouraged proliferation of beneficial intestinal bacteria, increased short-chain fatty acid production, and inhibited intestinal inflammation compared to live bacteria. 2
- Pasteurized forms increased the abundance of anti-inflammatory microbes like Dubosiella and beneficial bacteria like Parasutterella and Akkermansia species. 2
Metabolic Benefits
- Pasteurized A. muciniphila protects against fat mass accumulation, confirming metabolic benefits persist after pasteurization. 5
- The dead bacterial cells affect lipid metabolism and sphingolipid metabolism pathways that contribute to intestinal health. 2
Clinical Context and Caveats
Important limitation: While pasteurized A. muciniphila protects from fat mass gain, it does not protect from bone loss and may actually reduce bone mass in some contexts by increasing parathyroid hormone levels and serum amyloid A3. 5 This demonstrates that not all effects are universally beneficial.
Mechanism of Action
The beneficial effects of pasteurized (dead) A. muciniphila likely work through:
- Intact cell wall components and outer membrane proteins that interact with host immune cells 2
- Preserved structural elements that bind to mucin and influence the gut microbiota composition 4, 2
- Modulation of the existing gut microbiome rather than direct metabolic activity 2
Bottom line: Pasteurized Akkermansia is definitively not alive, but the heat-killed bacterial cells retain significant biological activity that may be therapeutically superior to live bacteria for certain intestinal and metabolic conditions. 1, 2