The journey of gut microbiome – An introduction and its influence on metabolic disorders

Abstract

Background: Metabolic disorders such as Obesity, Diabetes Type 2 (T2DM) and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) are the most prevalent globally. Recently, there has been a surge in the evidence indicating the correlation between the intestinal microbiota and development of these metabolic conditions apart from predisposing genetic and epigenetic factors. Gut microbiome is pivotal in controlling the host metabolism and physiology. But imbalances in the microbiota patterns lead to these disorders via several pathways. Animal and human studies so far have concentrated mostly on metagenomics for the whole microbiome characterization to understand how microbiome supports health in general. However, the accurate mechanisms connecting the metabolic disorders and alterations in gut microbial composition in host and the metabolites employed by the microorganisms in regulating the metabolic disorders is still vague. Objective: The review delineates the latest findings about the role of gut microbiome to the pathophysiology of Obesity, IBD and Diabetes Mellitus. Here, we provide a brief introduction to the gut microbiome followed by the current therapeutic interventions in restoration of the disrupted intestinal microbiota. Methods: A methodical PubMed search was performed using keywords like “gut microbiome,” “obesity,” “diabetes,” “IBD,” and “metabolic syndromes.” All significant and latest publications up to January 2018 were accounted for the review. Results: Out of the 93 articles cited, 63 articles focused on the gut microbiota association to these disorders. The rest 18 literature outlines the therapeutic approaches in maintaining the gut homeostasis using probiotics, prebiotics and faecal microbial transplant (FMT). Conclusion: Metabolic disorders have intricate etiology and thus a lucid understanding of the complex host-microbiome inter-relationships will open avenues to novel therapeutics for the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of the metabolic diseases.