Gut microbiota and chronic diseases: Role of probiotics

Abstract

Probiotics are live organisms that generally give consumers health advantages by improving or restoring the gut flora. Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are the two most commonly known probiotics. They have vital role in the prevention and/or diagnosis of many diseases, such as obesity, cancer, asthma, diarrhoea, hay fever, diabetes, chronic fever, HIV, and atopic eczema. They also help to maintain the gut microflora of the intestine. Gut microbiota reside in the gastrointestinal tract of humans, which can be bacteria, fungi, viruses, or protozoa and bacteriophages, which are essential for maintaining healthy gut health. The most dominant gut microbial phyla consist of firmicutes, actinobacteria, proteobacteria, bacteroidetes, and fusobacteria. In 90% of the gut microbiata belongs to the two important phyla-firmicutes and bacteroidetes. Examples include Lactobacillus acidophilus, Clostridium perfringens, Helicobacter pylori, Bacteroides fragilis, and Corynebacterium matruchotii. This review paper focuses on the role of probiotic microorganisms in preventing certain chronic diseases. The role of gut microbiota in maintaining human health is very crucial. They are known to maintain the host's homeostasis by providing protection against pathogens, training the immune system, better processing dietary compounds, and assisting proper nutrient uptake.