Prebiotics, gut microbiota and metabolic risks: Unveiling the relationship

The human gastrointestinal tract is colonized by trillions of microbes comprising thousands of bacterial phylotypes. Recent metagenomic studies of the human gut microbiota have revealed the presence of millions of genes, as compared to genes present in the entire human body. Perturbation in the level of gut microorganisms may lead to the onset of metabolic disorders. However, compelling evidence has also suggested that a particular gut microbial community may halt the occurrence of metabolic risk factors. Restoration of the beneficial gut microbial balance is difficult to achieve but the exploitation of prebiotics has led to promising outcomes in various studies. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.