Akkermansia muciniphila - kind of OT

haha, at first glance i thought that you were quoting the Polish poet Mickiewicz 'The Akkerman Steppe' (Sonnets from the Crimea). As for the bacterium, i've read that it's mucin-degrading so it's better to steer clear of it :)

I thought you might find this study interesting.

https://www.nature.com/articles/srep09253

It specifically mentions Akkermansia Muciniphila even if only briefly.

If I could throw out some quick food for thought, the benefits of AM(akkermansia muciniphila) comes from it's mucin degrading activity which is a positive thing contrary to what our intuition may be. Increasing mucin degrading activity leads to increased production of short chain fatty acids such as butyrate which stimulates increased mucin production leading to a thicker inner mucus layer which is a positive for many disease conditions. This is not unique to the AM bacteria and only increasing one bacteria in isolation is likely not as effective as adjusting the microbiome environment to be more hospitable to the particular bacteria and it's supporting cast as the biome is beyond complicated. I still haven't nailed down how eugenol increases the mucin degrading bacteria but my sciencey intuition is telling me it has something to do with interference of competition within the mucus layer. Also worth thinking about is depending on how they obtained measurements of the microbiome for their studies, AM may still be present in the mucus layer but not in fecal matter making it tough to measure.
I've discovered I can't make short science posts but TLDR, if you are looking for the benefits of AM, eugenol may be more effective since it increases many bacteria that achieve the results of AM. There's a high likely hood it also stimulates AM. If you look at the benefits of the two, there is massive overlap.

I can imagine too much could be an issue but too few is harmful as well. The microbiome is all about balance and the balance is most worth considering. Too many or too few of any bacteria means significant shifts in the biome as you'll notice bacteria don't operate on their own but have many cohesive or competitive relationships with other bacteria that factor into trying to keep a balanced microbiome. My thought on not having any Akkermansia would be what potentially harmful bacteria are increased by not having Akkermansia to compete with in the mucus layer or what potentially beneficial bacteria that rely on Akkermansia would be reduced. It's a huge puzzle with too many moving pieces but ultimately an imbalance in one bacteria usually leads to a cascade of biome changes. Not suggesting increasing Akkermansia in your case but just more thought fuel. My shifting the biome had a different strategy than normal.
Yeah, it's cloves! I picked up some clove extract a week ago and I was pleasantly surprised. 1 week is pretty short though to know if it's sustainable and I'm still not 100% but I'm closing in pretty quick. Eugenol is pretty touchy though, there are pretty bad effects at higher doses so dosing matters quite a bit.