Mechanism of Action
Gut Barrier Support
Last updated
Action on the integrity of the intestinal lining, particularly the tight junctions, which are the protein seals between neighbouring gut cells that control what passes between them. Compounds filed here are reported to increase tight junction proteins or to reduce measured permeability. Permeability is assessed with markers such as sugar recovery tests or serum zonulin, and the reliability of some of those markers is itself disputed.
Why it matters here
This mechanism sits underneath most gut records, and it is one where the measurement problem is as important as the finding. A claim is only as good as the permeability assay behind it.
What it is not
Leaky gut as sold to the public is a much larger claim than intestinal permeability as measured in a laboratory: permeability is real and measurable, while the syndrome built on top of it is not an established diagnosis. Gut barrier support is also an alias on our Gut Health outcome, so the same phrase resolves to a mechanism and to a result.
Also called
- gut barrier
- intestinal permeability
- tight junction support
- leaky gut support
- tight junction
- intestinal barrier
Tight junction names the protein seal between gut cells. Intestinal permeability is the quantity being measured, not the intervention, so a record citing permeability is reporting a readout rather than an action.