GUT MICROBIOTA

Abstract

Multidisciplinary approaches enabled a better understanding of the connection between human gut microbes and health. This knowledge is rapidly changing how we think about probiotics and related-biotics (prebiotics, synbiotics, pharmabiotics, and postbiotics). Functional-omics approaches are very important tools used to understand interindividual diversity of gut microbiota. Despite diverse gut microbial composition, individuals demonstrated similar microbial metabolic pathways, emphasizing the importance of functional genes. Dysbiosis observed in chronic illnesses such as obesity, diabetes, and inflammatory bowel disease could be an important therapeutic target. Commensal bacteria delivered in the form of fecal transplant, stress-adapted probiotic bacteria, pharmabiotic agents derived from beneficial bacteria, and postbiotic bioactive compounds have enormous potential in the therapeutics and supplement industries for targeting dysbiosis. Several relevant questions are raised in this chapter that will provide a framework to evaluate exponentially increasing data related to the gut microbiome and human health.