The varying effects of antibiotics on gut microbiota

Abstract

Antibiotics are lifesaving therapeutic drugs that have been used by human for decades. They are used both in the fight against bacterial pathogens for both human and for animal feeding. However, of recent, their effects on the gut microbial compositions and diversities have attracted much attention. Existing literature have established the dysbiosis (reduced diversity) in the gut microbiota in association with antibiotic and antibiotic drug doses. In the light of spelling out the varying effects of antibiotic use on gut microbiota, this review aimed at given an account on the degree of gut microbial alteration caused by common antibiotics. While some common antibiotics are found to destroy the common phyla, other debilitating effects were observed. The effects can be attributed to the mode of mechanism, the class of antibiotic, the degree of resistance of the antibiotic used, the dosage used during the treatment, the route of administration, the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics properties and the spectrum of the antibiotic agent. Health status, stress or the type of diet an individual feeds on could be a great proportion as confounding factors. While it is understood that only the bacterial communities are explored in the quest to establishing the role of gut in health, other gut microbial species are somehow contributing to the dysbiosis status of the gut microbiota. Until now, long term natural fluctuations like diseases outbreaks and mutations of the strain might as well rendered alteration to the gut independent of antibiotic treatments.

Keywords: Antibiotics; Broad spectrum antibiotics; Dysbiosis; Gut health; Gut microbiota; Narrow spectrum.

Fig. 1

The schematic diagram representing varying effects of antibiotics on gut microbiota. The shorter time drugs are used, the more rapid the recovery of the gut microbiome and vice versa. However, while some will be recovered after months, the extinct species were not seen reinstated during the trial. The proportionate recovery with respect to the concentration of antibiotics per duration is phenomena that will speak in volume as to the efficacy of the used antibiotics