Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and Human Microbiota (Review)

Natural polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and their synthetic analogs are widely used in medicine, including the production of biodegradable medical devices (prostheses, patches, stents, and plugs) intended for regenerative intestinal surgery. The possibility of biosynthesis and biodegradation of PHAs, primarily, their most common representative, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), by different symbiotic and infectious human and animal bacteria, particularly, multiple bacteria of intestinal microbiota, as well as the physiological role of biopolymer in bacterial cells, is discussed in detail in the review. The review also focuses on the problem of endogenous PHB in humans and animals. The assumption that microbiota bacteria can be a source of endogenous PHB is also discussed. In addition, the use of PHAs in regenerative intestine surgery is considered.