Impacts of Gut Bacteria on Human Health and Diseases
1
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition and Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
2
School of Chinese Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Sassoon Road, Hong Kong, China
3
School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Manickam Sugumaran
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2015, 16(4), 7493-7519; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms16047493
Received: 5 February 2015 / Revised: 23 March 2015 / Accepted: 26 March 2015 / Published: 2 April 2015
(This article belongs to the Section Biochemistry)
Gut bacteria are an important component of the microbiota ecosystem in the human gut, which is colonized by 1014 microbes, ten times more than the human cells. Gut bacteria play an important role in human health, such as supplying essential nutrients, synthesizing vitamin K, aiding in the digestion of cellulose, and promoting angiogenesis and enteric nerve function. However, they can also be potentially harmful due to the change of their composition when the gut ecosystem undergoes abnormal changes in the light of the use of antibiotics, illness, stress, aging, bad dietary habits, and lifestyle. Dysbiosis of the gut bacteria communities can cause many chronic diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, cancer, and autism. This review summarizes and discusses the roles and potential mechanisms of gut bacteria in human health and diseases.
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Keywords:
gut bacteria; human health; cancer; obesity
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MDPI and ACS Style
Zhang, Y.-J.; Li, S.; Gan, R.-Y.; Zhou, T.; Xu, D.-P.; Li, H.-B. Impacts of Gut Bacteria on Human Health and Diseases. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2015, 16, 7493-7519.
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