1.
Bacterial munch for infants: potential pediatric therapeutic interventions of probiotics.
Khurshid, M, Aslam, B, Nisar, MA, Akbar, R, Rahman, H, Khan, AA, Rasool, MH
Future microbiology. 2015;(11):1881-95
Abstract
Probiotics are viable microorganisms with the capacity to alter the gastrointestinal microbiota of the host. The recent scientific advancements and development of probiotic formulations have rekindled the importance of these clinical interpretations, underlining the starring role of the gut flora in host metabolism, defense and immune regulation. Despite encouraging preliminary results from randomized clinical trials of probiotics for various clinical conditions including irritable bowel syndrome, necrotizing enterocolitis, gastroenteritis, antibiotic-associated diarrhea, infantile colic, and improvement of digestion and immune function, further evidence is needed to determine the reproducibility of the findings and elucidate the underlying mechanisms. In this review, we have considered the postnatal development of gut flora and appraised the role of probiotics in health and disease condition among infants.
2.
Potential role of the intestinal microbiota in programming health and disease.
Goulet, O
Nutrition reviews. 2015;:32-40
Abstract
The composition of the microbiota varies according to prenatal events, delivery methods, infant feeding, infant care environment, and antibiotic use. Postnatal gut function and immune development are largely influenced by the intestinal microbiota. Emerging evidence has shown that early microbiota colonization may influence the occurrence of later diseases (microbial programming). The vast majority of microbial species (commensals) give rise to symbiotic host-bacterial interactions that are fundamental for human health. However, changes in the composition of the gut microbiota (dysbiosis) may be associated with several clinical conditions, including obesity and metabolic diseases, autoimmune diseases and allergy, acute and chronic intestinal inflammation, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), allergic gastroenteritis (e.g., eosinophilic gastroenteritis and allergic IBS), and necrotizing enterocolitis. Based on recent advances, modulation of gut microbiota with probiotics, prebiotics, or fermented dairy products has been suggested as a treatment of, or prevention for, different disorders such as IBS, infectious diarrhea, allergic disease, and necrotizing enterocolitis.
3.
Therapeutic modulation of intestinal dysbiosis.
Walker, AW, Lawley, TD
Pharmacological research. 2013;(1):75-86
Abstract
The human gastrointestinal tract is home to an extremely numerous and diverse collection of microbes, collectively termed the "intestinal microbiota". This microbiota is considered to play a number of key roles in the maintenance of host health, including aiding digestion of otherwise indigestible dietary compounds, synthesis of vitamins and other beneficial metabolites, immune system regulation and enhanced resistance against colonisation by pathogenic microorganisms. Conversely, the intestinal microbiota is also a potent source of antigens and potentially harmful compounds. In health, humans can therefore be considered to exist in a state of natural balance with their microbial inhabitants. A shift in the balance of microbiota composition such that it may become deleterious to host health is termed "dysbiosis". Dysbiosis of the gut microbiota has been implicated in numerous disorders, ranging from intestinal maladies such as inflammatory bowel diseases and colorectal cancer to disorders with more systemic effects such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome and atopy. Given the far reaching influence of the intestinal microbiota on human health a clear future goal must be to develop reliable means to alter the composition of the microbiota and restore a healthy balance of microbial species. While it is clear that much fundamental research remains to be done, potentially important therapeutic options include narrow spectrum antibiotics, novel probiotics, dietary interventions and more radical techniques such as faecal transplantation, all of which aim to suppress clinical dysbiosis, restore intestinal microbiota diversity and improve host health.
4.
Bacterial metabolic 'toxins': a new mechanism for lactose and food intolerance, and irritable bowel syndrome.
Campbell, AK, Matthews, SB, Vassel, N, Cox, CD, Naseem, R, Chaichi, J, Holland, IB, Green, J, Wann, KT
Toxicology. 2010;(3):268-76
Abstract
Lactose and food intolerance cause a wide range of gut and systemic symptoms, including gas, gut pain, diarrhoea or constipation, severe headaches, severe fatigue, loss of cognitive functions such as concentration, memory and reasoning, muscle and joint pain, heart palpitations, and a variety of allergies (Matthews and Campbell, 2000; Matthews et al., 2005; Waud et al., 2008). These can be explained by the production of toxic metabolites from gut bacteria, as a result of anaerobic digestion of carbohydrates and other foods, not absorbed in the small intestine. These metabolites include alcohols, diols such as butan 2,3 diol, ketones, acids, and aldehydes such as methylglyoxal (Campbell et al., 2005, 2009). These 'toxins' induce calcium signals in bacteria and affect their growth, thereby acting to modify the balance of microflora in the gut (Campbell et al., 2004, 2007a,b). These bacterial 'toxins' also affect signalling mechanisms in cells around the body, thereby explaining the wide range of symptoms in people with food intolerance. This new mechanism also explains the most common referral to gastroenterologists, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and the illness that afflicted Charles Darwin for 50 years (Campbell and Matthews, 2005a,b). We propose it will lead to a new understanding of the molecular mechanism of type 2 diabetes and some cancers.